Interscope Capitol Labels Group Confirms Gary Kelly, Jason Kawejsza Exec Roles
Written by djfrosty on March 8, 2024
One day after the debut of the newly-reconfigured Interscope Capitol Labels Group (ICLG) under chairman/CEO John Janick, the Universal Music Group’s top West Coast label exec announced more additions to his executive leadership team.
Gary Kelly, who has served as general manager/executive vp/chief revenue officer for Interscope Geffen A&M, will take on the role of GM/chief revenue officer for the new ICLG, continuing largely in the same role in the new structure. And IGA’s executive vp/head of business & legal affairs Jason Kawejsza will retain the same title in the new configuration.
Kelly and Kawejsza join ICLG vice chairman Steve Berman, COO Annie Lee and CFO Geoff Harris in the C-Suite, alongside Janick. All are longtime Interscope execs except Harris, who was previously at Capitol Music Group.
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“Gary and Jason have each been making invaluable contributions to our company for nearly 15 years, and both combine strong business acumen with an entrepreneurial mindset that will continue to be crucial to my leadership team and to ICLG’s success in the years to come,” Janick said in a statement. “I know that everyone in the company joins me in congratulating Gary and Jason on these well-earned promotions.”
The newly-formed Interscope Capitol Labels Group is the result of the major overhaul of the Universal Music Group label structure that UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge first announced on Feb. 1. Under the new structure, UMG’s West Coast labels — Interscope, Geffen, A&M, Capitol, Blue Note, Priority, Verve and Motown — now fall under Janick’s purview at ICLG, while its East Coast labels — consisting mostly of Republic, Def Jam, Island and Mercury — will be overseen by Republic co-founder and CEO Monte Lipman. News of the new East Coast structure is also expected as soon as next week.
”The creation of ICLG is a milestone moment for our company,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be part of John’s leadership team that will oversee our growth and evolution as we set the standard for what a modern-day music company should be. I look forward to working with everyone in the company who will utilize their best-in-class skill sets, relationships and expertise to deliver on our mission of providing artists with a home to create great music and build their global brands to reach the widest possible audience.”
Under the ICLG umbrella is a new leadership team for Capitol Music Group, with former Geffen boss Tom March as chairman/CEO and UMPG veteran Lilia Parsa as president, following the departures of prior CMG chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer and president Arjun Pulijal. The company has been going through extensive layoffs in the past week, as IGA and Capitol formally merge together.
“I am so excited to work with John and our entire leadership team at Interscope Capitol Labels Group as we move forward and redesign the company to most effectively support our amazing artists and label partners,” Kawejsza said in a statement.