Tencent Music Chief Strategy Officer Tony Yip to Step Down
Tony Yip, the chief strategy officer for Chinese audio streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), will step down on August 31, the company announced Monday (July 17). He plans to spend more time with his family overseas and pursue other personal interests, according to the press release. The company did not indicate who will replace Yip.
Yip started at Tencent Music Entertainment in 2018 when the company’s four streaming brands — QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing — had 20 million subscribers. He led Tencent Music Entertainment to a successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 and a dual listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2022. As of March 31, Tencent Music Entertainment had more than 90 million subscribers — 2.3 times more than the year Yip joined — and revenue of RMB 28.3 billion ($4.1 billion), up about 49% from 2018.
“Tony’s professional expertise was instrumental to TME’s development by continuously refining our strategic focus, providing deep insights into the global online music and entertainment industry, supporting business development, capital markets and investment strategies, and establishing confidence in our Company among the investor community,” said TME executive chairman Cussion Pang in a statement.
Shares of TME declined 2.8% to $7.38 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday and are down 10.9% year to date. While the share price has recovered from an all-time low of $2.95 in March 2022 following restrictions placed on Tencent Music Entertainment and many other Chinese tech companies, it’s still more than 77% below the all-time high of $32.25 set in March 2021.
The company will report second-quarter earnings on August 15.
Glenn Peoples
Billboard
