Kobalt has hired Avid Larizadeh Duggan to lead global strategy and business development for Kobalt as the executive vice president and chief strategy and business officer.
Larizadeh Duggan joins Kobalt from GV — formerly Google Ventures — the venture capital investment arm of Alphabet Inc., where she was general partner and ran GV’s investment in Kobalt. She has 20 years of experience in the startup ecosystem, including past work as a developer, product manager, founder, investor and adviser.
“Avid has a big passion for tech, building products and growing companies. Adding to that, she is a great person and team player,” said Kobalt founder and CEO Willard Ahdritz. “I am very happy to welcome her to the Kobalt executive team, where she will help us in continuing to build the new music industry.”
Larizadeh Duggan’s hiring comes following a big year for Kobalt, with all signs pointing to more growth in 2018. The company made headlines in December when it purchased SONGS Music Publishing’s catalog, which was preceded by raised commitments of $600 million in equity and debt to buy music assets.
Added Larizadeh Duggan: “As one of my portfolio companies while at GV, I had been closely witnessing Willard’s inspiring leadership and the Kobalt team’s commitment to build the music industry by putting creators first. “Kobalt is on a clear mission to bring transparency, fairness and efficiency to the music industry as a whole through the combination of technology, one of the best creative teams in the industry and bold vision. To have the opportunity to drive forward this mission and be part of Kobalt’s stellar team at such a key time in the company’s growth, is a real privilege.”