In the wake of the departure of WEA executive VP of sales and marketing John Madison, WEA Corp. has been reorganized into four distinct units, with some of its top executives promoted and given new responsibilities. There are no cutbacks in the realignment.
Madison’s exit gave management a chance to “redefine” WEA, says the company’s president and CEO John Esposito. “We live in a day and age of managing disparate accounts and new emerging distribution channels,” he says. “I’m confident these changes will better serve our customers, label partners and their artists, and better situate WEA to fulfill our mission to get the right music in the right place at the right time.”
Consequently, Mike Jbara, formerly WEA’s senior VP of production and media operations, has been promoted to executive VP and COO, overseeing operations and administration. Meanwhile, Matt Signore, who previously was WEA CFO and before that CFO/GM at Island Def Jam, has been promoted to WEA’s CFO/GM, overseeing sales analysis, credit and finance.
Also, Todd Van Gorp, formerly WEA’s VP of field sales, has been promoted to senior VP of sales and marketing, overseeing those two areas as well as developing markets. The e-commerce unit continues to be led by WEA senior VP Adam Mirabella.
All four executives report to Esposito.
Over the past several years, WEA Corp.’s role as WMG’s retail sales and distribution arm has grown to include the oversight of the company’s independent distributor Alternative Distribution Alliance; WMG’s incubator labels, Asylum and East West; and its digital-only label Cordless, as well as its global, digital assets and e-commerce group. The latter companies all report directly to Esposito.
