ZUG, SWITZERLAND (CelebrityAccess) – Swiss music company Utopia Music has a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – just three months after announcing the appointment of Alain Couttolenc in its head position. Utopia has announced Michael Stebler will now lead the company as CEO. Stebler will succeed Couttolenc, who took the post in October.
Let’s review: Effective immediately, Stebler is now CEO. Couttolenc has been appointed the new Deputy CEO and holds the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) position. Additionally, Billboard reports that Drew Hill, who runs Utopia’s UK-based distribution businesses, Utopia Distribution Services and Proper Music Group, has been named Deputy CEO. This new role is in addition to his role as Chief Distribution Officer (CDO). The C-Suite now boasts three CEOs.
Pedro Lima, formerly SVP of Strategy, Corporate Development & Business Transformation at NielsenIQ, joins as Chief Operating Officer (COO). The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Product Officer (CPO) remain the same, and there’s no news on who will sit in the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) chair.
Stebler has most recently been Managing Director of Investment Advisors Zug AG. This is his first C-Suite position, but he has worked with Utopia through the years via Zug AG, which operates on behalf of the majority shareholders.
This isn’t the first shake-up for the Swiss company. Utopia held an Extraordinary General Meeting in December, where a syndicate of investors in Utopia took control of the board, appointing a new interim Chair, Australian John Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell Asset Management.
In a board memo to shareholders seen by CMU, the board and CEO say that they “see tremendous potential” in Utopia. Stebler will, continuing the memo, ensure that the company “focuses on targeted sales, structural enhancements, and transparency, ensuring the company’s alignment with its goals.” Couttolenc will ensure those goals are met, “driving top-line growth” as a “sales lead with vast experience in selling IP products, who knows our clients, to realize our commercial roadmap.”
The substantial structural reorganization of Utopia, a technology company providing financial services to the music industry, follows a challenging period marked by the company’s acquisition of 15 firms between 2020 and 2022. Notable acquisitions include Lyric Financial, a Nashville-based provider of royalty-backed cash advances, and Proper Music Group, the leading independent physical music distributor in the United Kingdom.
