Utopia Music, the Swiss-based music technology company, has announced the appointment of Alain Couttolenc as CEO.
Couttolenc is an experienced C-level executive with “a track record of maximising growth across international media and data companies”, says Utopia in a press release announcing the appointment.
Most recently Couttolenc served as Chief Development Officer at IPSOS, one of the world’s largest data companies, and before that he was CEO Europe for Nielsen Media.
Utopia has faced a string of controversies over recent months, including the sudden liquidation of a number of subsidiaries and questions about the future of the business. Recently, CMU confirmed that the company was reliant on funds being released from escrow in order to settle various liabilities.
"Clarity, agility, and an open and honest culture will be extremely important for success..."
Mattias Hjelmstedt, a co-founder of Utopia, had stepped into the role of CEO on an interim basis in February 2023. He will now resume his former role as Chairman of the Board.
Couttolenc says: “I’m honoured to join such a dynamic company that is supporting the growth of my greatest passion – music. My main focus will be to contribute with what I know best: creating outstanding services by leveraging data and driving growth”.
In a possible nod to the company’s recent troubles he goes on to say: “An important task will be to develop and build teams where people can deliver value and thrive in their roles – clarity, agility, and an open and honest culture will be extremely important for success”.
Commenting on the new appointment, Hjelmstedt says that Couttolenc has “a long and successful track record as a global business leader and has a deep understanding of data and its implementation. Very importantly, he also has a background in media and music, and a wide international network”.
“The board and I are confident that Alain is the right person to succeed in realising our mission to grow the music industry through innovative data solutions and unmatched distribution capabilities – that’s how we’ll reach profitability and achieve long-term sustainable growth”.
Earlier this month CMU was able to confirm that the company - which employs 181 people - needs more than €3 million a month to operate at its current level and is in the midst of a funding round. On that basis the new CEO has significant challenges ahead of him, not least re-establishing the confidence of stakeholders across the music industry, and bringing the company to profitability and growth.