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New top team at Warner Bros US following Whalley’s departure
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 15 September 2010
So, a bit of major revamp at the US version of Warner Brothers Records following the news Tom Whalley, Chairman and CEO of the Warner Music division since 2001, is leaving.
Yesterday the major announced the new executive line up, which will see current Chief Creative Officer Rob Cavallo become Chairman; current Exec VP of WB and head of Warner’s Independent Label Group Todd Moscowitz take on the role of CEO; and Livia Tortella, currently GM at Warner’s Atlantic Records US division, become COO of Warner Bros. Whalley’s COO, Diarmuid Quinn, is also departing the major.
The changes were confirmed by Warner Music’s Vice-Chair Lyor Cohen, who said these words: “The new Warner Bros executive team represents the ideal combination of skills to operate a successful music company in today’s radically evolving industry environment. With Rob’s creative brilliance, Todd’s proven ability to develop and execute new business models and revenue streams and Livia’s established track record of building lasting artist careers, we have in place a group of executives who are uniquely positioned to continue to strengthen the reputation of Warner Bros as an artist-friendly haven with a visionary approach to discovering and nurturing new talent”.
Paying tribute to the Whalley man, he continued: “Tom Whalley is one of this industry’s most accomplished executives and his contributions to WMG are enormous, having restored Warner Bros to its leadership position. Just consider his near-decade of creative and operational success at Warner Bros, including ranking as one of the country’s top three labels every year since 2003 and as the country’s top label in two of the last five years. Tom embodies a rare combination of great creative instincts with a deep understanding of the music business, and we are privileged to have had him lead Warner Bros”.
Whalley himself said: “I leave here extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. I don’t know a more talented group of professionals than the Warner Bros team. After working with them for almost a decade, I’m awed by what they’ve done and by the roster we’ve built together. I’ll miss them and our amazing artists, and wish them all the best. I’d like to thank both [Warner top man] Edgar [Bronfman Jr] and Lyor for their leadership and their acceptance of my decision. I also want to thank all of the men and women whom I’ve had the great privilege to work with at Warner Bros through the years”.
