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Lucian Grainge to become CEO of Universal Music Group
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 10 February 2010
This has been long expected, but is pretty big news nonetheless. London-based Universal Music International chief Lucian Grainge will become top dog of the whole Universal music company as of the start of next year, reporting direct to the boss of parent company Vivendi, Jean-Bernard Levy. Grainge will take over from long-time Universal Music chief, the aging but still prolific Doug Morris, whose pending retirement has been much discussed in recent years.
Confirming he’d step down to make way for Grainge, Morris said this morning: “The time has come for Lucian to step up to the CEO role. I am very happy with the new organisation as I have been grooming him to succeed me for quite a while now. I know he is ready, willing and able to attack the challenges of the new decade”.
According to Billboard, the aforementioned Levy added: “I am delighted that Lucian Grainge has agreed to move to New York to take on the Chief Executive role. His track record speaks for itself, finding stars, growing revenues and building new business models. He has the right combination of experience and innovation to take UMG forward as the migration into the digital era accelerates. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Doug Morris for the extraordinary results he has achieved over the years in a very tough environment”.
