Online music video platform Vevo has appointed Erik Huggers as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
The news comes five months after Vevo’s first CEO, Rio Caraeff, exited the company.
Most recently, Huggers was a Senior Vice President at Verizon Communications Inc., where he was also President of the company’s recently acquired OnCue business.
Huggers developed OnCue at Intel, where he was President of the company’s media division from 2011 to 2014.
Prior to joining Intel, Huggers was an executive board member responsible for the BBC’s Future Media & Technology division, where he launched BBC iPlayer, one of the first premium online video services. Before the BBC, Huggers held senior roles at Microsoft Corp. and at Endemol Entertainment.
In a statement, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, on behalf of the Vevo ownership group, said: “We are enormously excited about the future of Vevo under Erik’s leadership. We are committed to continued support and investment in the long term success of the company.
“Vevo has developed into the world’s music video leader that reaches music fans on all devices. With a proven track record of innovation, Erik has the perfect skillset to grow the Vevo business.”
Erik Huggers said, “I am truly grateful to Vevo’s owners for this incredible opportunity. The Vevo team has built the leading video service that has been embraced by passionate music fans around the world. I believe there is great potential in accelerating innovation to delight audiences with new product features and premium content. This is an exciting new chapter for myself and Vevo.”
Delivering nearly 100 billion streams across its distribution platform annually, Vevo has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, growing its business at a rate of over 50% year-over-year since 2010.Music Business Worldwide
