Daniel Ek co-founded Spotify in 2006 and has long been the public face of the company. Things are about to change, as it was just announced that he is stepping down as CEO. Instead, Gustav Söderström (currently the co-president and chief product and technology officer) and Alex Norström (co-president and chief business officer) will take over as Spotify’s co-CEOs, while Ek will move into the role of Executive Chairman.
Per Spotify, Ek’s new role “will more closely reflect a European Chairman setup, where he will determine capital allocation, map the long term future of Spotify and continue to provide support and guidance to its senior team.”
Notably, this comes after artists like King Gizzard And The Wizard Lizard, Hotline TNT, and Massive Attack removed their music from Spotify, in protest of Ek’s venture capital firm Prima Materia investing millions of dollars in the military AI company Helsing. Per Spotify, though, it doesn’t appear the change is in response to this: Their post notes that the shift “formalizes how Spotify has successfully operated since 2023 with the co-presidents largely leading strategic development and operational execution of Spotify.”
Ek said in a statement:
“I always believed that Spotify could play an important role in revolutionizing listening around the world, and with more than 700 million users, we’ve truly charted a new course bringing creativity to every corner of the globe. Over the last few years, I’ve turned over a large part of the day-to-day management and strategic direction of Spotify to Alex and Gustav — who have shaped the company from our earliest days and are now more than ready to guide our next phase. This change simply matches titles to how we already operate. In my role as Executive Chairman, I will focus on the long arc of the company and keep the Board and our co-CEOs deeply connected through my engagement.”
Find the full news release here.