\n\tFollowing its acquisition of Downtown Music, Virgin Music Group (VMG) announced its new global and regional leadership team on Tuesday (June 30). The move brings together executives from both VMG and Downtown.<\/p>\n
\n\tDowntown executives have been named to several key roles across VMG\u2019s six key regions. They include Sarah Landy<\/strong> as senior vp of business development, reporting to Jacqueline Saturn<\/strong>, president of North America and executive vp of global artist relations; Liz Northeast<\/strong> as senior vp and general manager, Europe, reporting to Nick Roden<\/strong>, president, Europe; and Renato Vanzella<\/strong> as managing director, Brazil, reporting to Cris Falcao<\/strong>, president of Brazil and Portugal. Elsewhere, Nathan McLay<\/strong> will continue as managing director of Australia and New Zealand; Michael Roe<\/strong> will continue as managing director of Asia, Middle East and Africa; and Victor Gonz\u00e1lez<\/strong> will continue as president of LATAM, U.S. Latin and Spain. All regional leaders report to VMG co-CEOs Nat Pastor<\/strong> and JT Myers<\/strong>. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\tMeanwhile, Jeremy Kramer<\/strong> and Zack Gershen<\/strong> will continue in their roles as executive vp of global marketing and executive vp of global commercial and digital strategy, respectively. Both will report to Myers and Pastor.<\/p>\n \n\tAdditionally, Tom Allen<\/strong> has been named chief technology officer of VMG; Christiaan Kr\u00f6ner<\/strong> will serve as executive vp of global operations at VMG; Molly Neuman<\/strong> remains president of CD Baby; Emily Stephenson <\/strong>remains president of Downtown Music Publishing; David Driessen<\/strong> has been named chief product officer at VMG; Matt Sawin<\/strong> has been named executive vp of physical and direct-to-fan-growth at VMG; and Gareth Mellor<\/strong> has been named senior vp of communications and brand strategy at VMG. Allen, Kr\u00f6ner, Neuman, Stephenson, Driessen, Sawin and Mellor will all report to Downtown\u2019s former CEO, Pieter van Rijin<\/strong>, who stepped into the COO role at VMG in February following VMG\u2019s official acquisition of Downtown.<\/p>\n \n\tBen Patterson<\/strong>, who previously served as president of Downtown Artist & Label Services, will now lead a new artist-focused enterprise that collaborates with VMG.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cVirgin Music Group and Downtown have each built their reputations by supervising the independent community and empowering local teams,\u201d Pastor said in a statement. \u201cThis combined structure will help grow these strengths, continuing to innovate while deepening the entrepreneurial culture and trusted relationships that will define our future.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOur ambition is to keep expanding what\u2019s possible for the independent music community,\u201d added Myers. \u201cThat means offering each artist, entrepreneur, label and rightsholder access to broader capabilities and a more connected global network, while remaining flexible enough to meet them wherever they are in their journey.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve brought together an exceptional group of leaders with a shared belief: artists and entrepreneurs deserve the strongest possible partner,\u201d van Rijin said in a statement. \u201cThrough the skills and technology of the combined organization, we will give more great music the chance to break through and more creative businesses the platform to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tVirgin and UMG acquired Downtown for $775 million, with UMG divesting Downtown\u2019s rights-management and accounting platform, Curve Royalty Systems, in order to complete the sale<\/a>. The acquisition included Downtown services FUGA, CD Baby, Songtrust and Downtown Artist & Label Services. At the time of the sale\u2019s completion, Downtown\u2019s founder, Justin Kalifowitz<\/strong>, departed the company.<\/p>\n\n
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