Virgin Music Group Names Global Leadership Team

20 October 2023 - Press release

Virgin Music Group combines two respected global indie brands, Virgin Music and Ingrooves Music Group as part of growth strategy

Virgin Music Group, the world's leading partner to independent music companies and entrepreneurs, announced today the core members of its global leadership team. As part of a global reorganization, Virgin Music Group integrates Ingrooves' industry-leading global platform and patented marketing technology with Virgin Music, one of the world's most iconic independent music brands, to offer independent artists and labels a full suite of global services, providing expertise that is unparalleled in the music industry. The company has already begun to integrate operations among the teams in 32 countries around the world, a process that will proceed over the coming months.

As the global independent music division of UMG, Virgin Music Group is expanding as a stand-alone organization, now under common Virgin branding, working within a proprietary global system that includes a unified infrastructure, platform, product suite, and team.

"It is an enormously exciting time to be working in the independent sector of our business," said JT Myers, Virgin Music Group, Co-CEO. "In today's market, visionary music entrepreneurs can be successful on a global scale if they have the right team and infrastructure to empower them. That's what we are building at VMG, a company that combines the industry's leading technology, brand identity, and executive expertise with unparalleled global scale in order to help our partners in the independent community to achieve their goals."

Moving forward, Virgin Music Group will be organized into five key regions, with country leaders reporting to the newly appointed regional leaders.

• Jacqueline Saturn has been named President of Virgin Music Group North America, and EVP of Global Artist Relations.

• Thomas Lorain and Nick Roden have been named Co-Presidents of Virgin Music Group Europe.

• Victor Gonzales has been named President of Virgin Music Group Latin America & Iberian Peninsula. Cris Garcia Falcão has been named Managing Director of Label & Artist Strategy and General Manager of Virgin Music Group Latin.

• Nathan McLay has been named Managing Director of Virgin Music Group Australia & New Zealand. Managing Director Tim Janes will be focused on marketing international repertoire in the region.

• Michael Roe has been named Managing Director of Virgin Music Group Africa, Middle East, and Asia (AMEA), focusing on fast-expanding growth markets.

 

In addition, Virgin Music Group has named a centralized global leadership team that will focus on maximizing the impact of marketing, commercial, and operational initiatives around the world.

• Jay Blomquist has been named Chief Technology Officer of Virgin Music Group.

• Jeremy Kramer has been named Executive Vice President of Global Marketing for Virgin Music Group, leading the company's marketing strategy around the world.

• Joy Larocca has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Virgin Music Group. 

• Liz Morentin has been named Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Brand Strategy for Virgin Music Group.

• Matt Sawin has been named Head of Global Product Strategy and Operations for Virgin Music Group.

• Nina Rabe-Cairns has been named Head of Global Growth Strategy for Virgin Music Group, working closely with global and local leadership to identify business opportunities and expand the company's reach. 

• Zack Gershen has been named Executive Vice President of Global Commercial & Digital Strategy for Virgin Music Group.

 

The newly appointed global leadership team will report directly to Virgin Music Group Co-CEOs JT Myers and Nat Pastor.

Nat Pastor, Virgin Music Group, Co-CEO, commented: "As we continue to deepen our relationships within the growing independent music sector, each of these veteran executives will help to ensure that Virgin Music Group has the kind of global infrastructure and expertise that is nimble, efficient, and puts innovation and creativity at the center of everything we do. Together this executive team will provide independent artists and labels with a powerful global team to help them build their audiences around the world."