PARIS, France (CelebrityAccess) — French music streaming platform Deezer announced that CEO Jeronimo Folgueira announced his intention to resign from the company to pursue other projects.
Folgueira will remain in his current post as CEO until he officially steps down at the end of March 2024.
”I am extremely proud of what we have achieved over the last three years, not only the strong 2023 financial results announced today and our listing on Euronext Paris, but also the adoption of our new brand identity, our evolution to an experience service platform, and the introduction of the new Artist Centric Payment System. I am also grateful to the outstanding management team and everyone that works at Deezer, as well as our Board of Directors, and in particular our Chairwoman, Iris Knobloch, and our Vice-Chairman, Guillaume d’Hauteville, for their support. It has been an honor to serve Deezer as CEO and I remain fully committed to supporting the company through the management transition,” Folgueira said in announcing his exit.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to Jeronimo for all the work done over the course of these last three years. Together, we have accelerated the development of Deezer, listed the company on Paris Euronext and put us on a path to profitability and free cash flow generation, in line with our commitments since the IPO. Deezer is back on a growth trajectory and can now build from a solid foundation, with a talented management team to capture the many opportunities in a rapidly evolving music market,” added Iris Knobloch, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors.
Deezer’s Board of Directors is currently in the process of nominating a new CEO, who will be announced in the coming weeks, the company said.
Folgueira joined Deezer in 2021 to replace the company’s previous CEO, Hans-Holger Albrecht. Folgueira joined Deezer from the e-commerce company Spark Networks and his resume also includes senior roles at Betfair, Bigpoint, and RTL Group.
Folgueira’s departure comes against the backdrop of Deezer revealing their financial results for 2023.
According to the company’s financial filings, Deezer saw revenue growth increase to €484 million in 2023, an improvement of 7.4% from the previous year’s results. The results were driven by growth in subscriptions, which expanded by 11.5% for the year, despite declines among international subscribers.
Growth in revenue helped Deezer to pare its losses for FY2023 to €59.6 million, a 64.6% reduction from the previous year.
“2023 was a great year for Deezer, we have delivered record results and positioned the company well for a strong 2024. Our revenue and subscriber growth substantially accelerated in Q4 and our continued improvements in profitability pave the way for us to achieve cash flow breakeven this year. Our partnership strategy is bearing fruit, driving our overall growth and helping us win market share outside France. Additionally, 2023 was a key year for the music industry thanks to the introduction of our new Artist Centric Payment System, the first major change to royalty payments since the inception of streaming. It’s a change that has been extremely well received and that will protect and reward the artists that create valuable content. And last but not least, in 2023 we have also embraced our new brand identity, fresher and bolder, to position Deezer as the innovator where artists, fans and partners can be and belong,” Folgueira said.
