Changes are brewing at Utopia Music. Well, in fact they’ve brewed, with the announcement yesterday that CEO Markku Mäkeläinen has left the company, following its recent reorganisation and layoffs.
Founder and executive chairman Mattias Hjelmstedt will be taking on more responsibilities to cover Mäkeläinen’s departure, with a flurry of internal promotions creating a new leadership team within Utopia’s royalty platform division.
One interesting point about those executives: all have backgrounds outside the music industry.
Executive board director Tuva Palm and chief architect Max Flach are tech industry veterans; commercial boss Tommy Fransson comes from the finance industry; business development chief Greger Hagelin’s background is in fashion and extreme sports; and head of corporate services Tonio Bahner is an experienced lawyer who’s worked in the aerospace, defence and power industries.
Utopia’s other division, music services, will continue to be run by its CEO, publishing veteran Roberto Neri.
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