Warner Music Group has named Val Blavatnik Managing Director of North America, the U.K., and Corporate Development, folding the 28-year-old executive into the company’s frontline leadership team. The son of majority shareholder Len Blavatnik will coordinate business and operational strategy across those markets and help steer WMG’s investment agenda for growth.
The appointment lands alongside a broader executive reshuffle. Atlantic Music Group CEO Elliot Grainge becomes Chairman of distribution arm ADA in the U.S. and has named Atlantic COO Zach Friedman as ADA’s Vice Chairman. Aaron Bay-Schuck is now sole Chairman and CEO of Warner Records Group after Tom Corson’s rise to WMG COO, while Alejandro Duque steps up to President of Warner Music International with APAC and EMEA added to his remit. Guillermo Gonzalez moves to President of Warner Music EMEA, with Andrés Rothschild succeeding him at Warner Music Iberia.
Simon Robson will leave in December after nearly three decades at the company. CEO Robert Kyncl framed the changes as deepening a leadership bench that can push market share, music’s economic value, and operating efficiency into WMG’s next chapter, while thanking Robson for expanding the group’s global footprint.
Image: Val Blavatnik and Elliot Grainge — Monica Schipper/Getty Images / The Hollywood Reporter — https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-industry-news/wmg-appoints-val-blavatnik-executive-leadership-team-1236709852/