Executive Turntable: Columbia Taps UK President; Web3 Label Hires R&B/Hip-Hop Power Player

Dipesh Parmar was promoted to president of Columbia Records UK while Amy Wheatley was appointed managing director of the label. Parmar was previously president of Ministry of Sound, which Sony Music acquired in 2016, while Wheatley was previously managing director at Ministry of Sound, which will now operate under the Columbia umbrella. Parmar will continue reporting to Sony Music UK & Ireland chairman and CEO Jason Iley and Wheatley will continue reporting to Parmar.

Web3 record label Nvak Collective named Nikisha Bailey general manager. In the role, Bailey will oversee and facilitate A&R, marketing and label operations. Bailey was most recently vp of A&R admin & operations at Artist Partner Group/Atlantic Records. She also serves as vp of The Recording Academy’s New York chapter, as an ambassador for the Black Music Collective and as co-chair of Women In Music’s diversity and inclusion council. She was named a Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Player in 2020 and 2021. Bailey can be reached at nikisha@nvak.org.

Holger Horen was appointed CFO at CTS Eventim. He joins the company from PEAC Finance, where he served as CFO and chief risk officer. Horen succeeds Andreas Grandiger, who will also step down from the CTS Eventim executive board when his contract ends on Dec. 31.

Music funding platform beatBread named industry veteran Mark Terry as head of Europe. In the newly created role, Terry will lead beatBread’s expansion in the U.K. and Continental Europe, with a focus on developing deeper relationships with artists, managers, distributors and independent labels. He’ll work closely with beatBread’s head of artist & industry development, Matthew Tilley.

Sam Riddle was named senior vp of marketing at Warner Records. In his new role, Riddle will oversee marketing campaigns for the label’s roster, with a focus on artist development. Based in Los Angeles, he will report to executive vp of marketing & artist development Dionnee Harper. He joins Warner Records from Roc Nation, where he most recently served as vp of artist management.

Position Music hired Melanie Ainsworth as CFO. Before joining the company, she served as financial controller for Big Machine Label Group in Nashville for eight years. Ainsworth can be reached at melanie@positionmusic.com.

Shilpa Das was named vp and head of publishing & label administration at Avex USA. Das will oversee administration for Avex USA Publishing and the Avex USA label SELENE. She joins the company from Reach Music Publishing, where she managed copyright administration and royalties. Based in Los Angeles, she’ll report to Avex USA CEO Naoki Osaka.

ASM Global made three new hires in its commercial partnership division: Bryce G. Townsend as senior vp of commercial partnerships; Kevin Dent as vp of sponsorship sales and business development; and Emily Wilson as director of marketing solutions. Townsend can be reached at btownsend@asmglobal.com, Dent can be reached at kdent@asmglobal.com and Wilson can be reached at ewilson@asmglobal.com.

Big Sync Music hired Christina Spoljaric Konig as client services director for the company’s North America division. She will oversee Big Sync Music’s clients in North America, including Unilever. Spoljaric Konig arrives at Big Sync from sonic branding and sound design agency Sixième Son, where she served as director of brand partnerships.

Lauren Harman was named president of film/TV licensing for Silo Music, where she will oversee creative pitching and A&R. She arrives at Silo from Nas‘ Mass Appeal Records, where she ran the synch department. Harman can be reached at lauren@silomusic.com.

Sony Music Nashville hired Jason McColl as senior director of A&R. McColl comes to the label from Warner Nashville, where he served as director of A&R. In his new role, he will work closely on the A&R for Corey Kent, Jameson Rodgers and more.

Scotty O’Brien was elevated to vp of promotion, marketing SXM Radio at BBR Music Group; he was previously director of Southeast regional promotion. He will continue to serve as the Southeast regional promotion representative for Broken Bow Records; his role expands to oversee SXM airplay for all BBRMG imprints, producing syndicated content and developing overall promotion and marketing strategies for those platforms for artists across the label group. O’Brien can be reached at scotty@brokenbowrecords.com.

Business management firm Farris, Self & Moore promoted three team members: Gator Pizer and Hannah Haggerty, from client managers to associate business managers; and Elaina Riggs from operations, contracts and royalty manager to director of operations. Pizer can be reached at gator@fsmnash.com, Haggerty can be reached at hannah@fsmnash.com and Riggs can be reached at elaina@fsmnash.com.

European podcast and audiobook subscription service Podimo hired Claus Thune as global director of programming. Based at Podimo’s Copenhagen headquarters, Thune will work closely with the company’s product and local curation teams. He joins from Epidemic Sound, where he served as director of music curation. Thune can be reached at claus.thune@podimo.com.

Huxley promoted George Georgopoulos to director of brand partnerships and hired Kerry McKenna as senior agent. McKenna, who joins from KEEP Agency, will work alongside Georgopoulos and others on brand partnerships for Huxley talent. Georgopoulos can be reached at george@huxley.world and McKenna can be reached at kerry@huxley.world.

Digital entertainment and retail association ERA named Ben Drury chair of the organization, effective Jan. 1. Drury ran and then sold dotmusic to Yahoo in 2003, then went on to found B2B download and streaming service 7digital the following year. He left 7digital to establish the children’s audio platform Yoto in 2015.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and MusiCounts announced new members to its 2022-23 board of directors. They are: Adam Burchill, head of sports and gaming, North America at TikTok; Dr. Julie Nagam, chair of the history of indigenous arts of North America (assistant professor and curator) at University of Winnipeg; Kate Purchase, senior director, CEO platform, office of the CEO at Microsoft; and Mark Harrison, founder of The T1 Agency.