Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, has just announced that the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Paul Vogel, is leaving the firm.
The news comes just three days after Ek confirmed that his firm is to lay off 17% of its global workforce – around 1,500 employees – due to a “gap between our financial goal state and our current operational costs”.
Vogel will officially depart Spotify at the end of Q1 2024.
In a statement today (December 7) about Vogel’s departure, Ek said: “Spotify has embarked on an evolution over the last two years to bring our spending more in line with market expectations while also funding the significant growth opportunities we continue to identify.
“I’ve talked a lot with Paul about the need to balance these two objectives carefully. Over time, we’ve come to the conclusion that Spotify is entering a new phase and needs a CFO with a different mix of experiences. As a result, we’ve decided to part ways, but I am very appreciative of the steady hand Paul has provided in supporting the expansion of our business through a global pandemic and unprecedented economic uncertainty.”
Added Ek: “As we initiate the search for a new leader, we do so from a position of strength. I am enormously proud of the strides we’ve made as a company. We are on track to deliver against the goals we outlined at our Investor Day and our recent actions will help us accelerate these efforts. We look forward to tapping a strong financial leader as our next CFO and I will share more details soon.”
As Spotify conducts an external search for Vogel’s successor, the company said, Ben Kung, Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, will “take on expanded responsibilities to support the company’s realignment of its financial leadership team”.
Interestingly, MBW has spotted in an SEC filing that on Tuesday this week (December 5), Paul Vogel cashed out 47,859 shares in Spotify – banking him USD $9.377 million.
That cash-out took place just 24 hours after Spotify’s latest global layoffs were announced.
Spotify’s share price rose 7.5% on Monday (December 4) following the layoff announcement.
Paul Vogel’s annual base salary at Spotify was $600,000 in 2022, according to SEC documents, but he also pulled in option awards worth $6.187 million in the year.
Meanwhile, two territory bosses at Spotify have announced their departure from the company in the past few days.
SPOT’s Sweden-based MD for the Nordic region, Jenny Hermanson, announced she was leaving Spotify at the end of last week.
And today (December 7), SPOT’s long-time MD for the UK & Ireland, Tom Connaughton, confirmed he too is departing the streaming business.Music Business Worldwide