Tom Sansone has stepped down as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Kobalt.
According to the company, Sansone will remain as an advisor to CEO Laurent Hubert, and will also aid in the transition of recently promoted CFO, Catrin Drabble, effective April 15, 2022.
Drabble, Kobalt’s new CFO, most recently held the title of executive Vice President, Corporate Development, and Finance.
Since joining Kobalt in 2017, the company says that Drabble “has revamped the investment team, led many initiatives around proprietary forecasting and deal underwriting, and overseen hundreds of millions worth of signings and acquisitions”.
Most notably, SONGs, Shellback, Flyte Tyme, and more.
More recently, Drabble managed the re-organization of the FP&A team and processes and played a key role in Kobalt’s Corporate Development activities, most notably the sale of AWAL and KNR in 2021.
MBW reported earlier this month that Kobalt expects to generate somewhere close to USD $625 million in gross collections in its current financial year, to the end of June 2022. (Gross collections being overall revenues, plus fees received by Kobalt for its role as an advisor / asset manager to music-buying funds.)
Kobalt is also anticipating that it will end the current FY with around a tenth of that figure, $65 million, in EBITDA profit.
“Tom has been an incredible leader for Kobalt over the past six years and has led the business to be in the strongest financial shape it has ever seen.”
Laurent Hubert, Kobalt
Kobalt CEO Laurent Hubert, said: “Tom has been an incredible leader for Kobalt over the past six years and has led the business to be in the strongest financial shape it has ever seen.
“I am glad he will remain as a close advisor, and we all agree elevating Catrin was a natural next step for the company. Catrin has constantly been a high-performer with a deep understanding of music business economics.
“She has been the key leader in bridging finance and investment teams, as well as a critical part of our path to profitability.
“I have always been impressed by Catrin’s extensive knowledge and work ethic while working with her in my capacity as CIO of Kobalt Capital, and seeing her growth over the last five years has been exciting.”
Willard Ahdritz, Kobalt
Kobalt Founder and Chairman, Willard Ahdritz, added: “Having hired Tom in 2016 and working closely with him since then, I have truly enjoyed his camaraderie both on a daily basis and during our bigger capital raises and transformative work. I thank him for his time at Kobalt.
“I have always been impressed by Catrin’s extensive knowledge and work ethic while working with her in my capacity as CIO of Kobalt Capital, and seeing her growth over the last five years has been exciting.
“I am pleased that she will now take on the position of CFO.”Music Business Worldwide
