Independent music company Exceleration Music has marked its first year of business with a raft of new executive hires.
Mike Gillespie joins the company as Head of Global Sales & Retail Marketing, and will assume responsibility for Exceleration’s global sales, physical distribution, and retail marketing.
Gillespie spent over a decade serving as Senior Vice President of Commercial Sales at Concord Music, where he oversaw the company’s sales division during a period of growth.
Before that, Gillespie was Vice President of Sales Customer Operations at Universal Music Group, and has held management positions at RED Distribution, Pavement/Zoo Entertainment and Relativity Records/Sony Music Group.
He is an active member of the Music Business Association (Music Biz), American Management Association (AMA), and American Society of Composers (ASCAP).
Bela Zecker joins the team as Label Manager, responsible for overseeing day-to-day communication with Exceleration’s label partners and maximizing the potential of its catalogs and releases.
She joins from SoundCloud, where she was Senior Manager, Independent Label Relation. She has also served as Member Relations & Commercial Partnerships Manager – Americas at indie rights agency Merlin, and undertaken various roles over several years at indie label Ninja Tune.
Andy Lewis has been appointed Commercial Partnership Manager, and will work alongside Darin Soler, Exceleration’s Head of Global Marketing & Commercial Partnerships, to maximize consumption and engagement for Exceleration’s content, working externally with DSPs and internally across the company’s team and its growing roster of labels and artists.
Lewis spent 15 years at Sony Music where he worked in several artist marketing, product management, and global partner development roles, most recently as Vice President of Partner Development.
Emma Walker joins as Accounting & Administrative Assistant and will be involved in the day-to-day functioning of Exceleration’s accounting department, including royalties and general business administration.
Working within the finance team under Donna Feeley, Exceleration’s Head of Accounting & Business Administration, Walker’s previous experience includes work across several industries, including seven years as an A&R Administration Analyst at RCA Records.
Lastly, David Piechota has also joined the finance team as Revenue & Royalty Administrative Assistant.
Exceleration’s new appointments follow a recent flurry of new deals, with the company announcing a strategic partnership with LA indie label SideOneDummy Records in January.
In 2021, the company acquired Chicago-based label Bloodshot Records, and formed a partnership with the estate of the late Justin Townes Earle.
“The expertise and passion [exceleration] bring to the industry along with exceptional vision are second to none.”
Mike Gillespie
Mike Gillespie, Head of Global Sales & Retail Marketing, said: “I’m thrilled to join the team and partners at Exceleration Music, many of which I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years.
“The expertise and passion they bring to the industry along with exceptional vision are second to none.
“I’m honored to be a part of it and look forward to a dynamic future.”
“One of Exceleration’s guiding principles is to put people first in all that we do.”
Glen Barros, Exceleration
Glen Barros, founding Exceleration Partner, added: “One of Exceleration’s guiding principles is to put people first in all that we do.
“So, despite our rapid growth, we are taking great care in building our team. I can truly say that this group – Mike, Bela, Andy, Emma and Dave – perfectly fit the ethos we’re creating here at Exceleration.
“They bring extraordinary talent to the company, they all demonstrate an incredible passion for the music and the people behind the music, and they’re simply great to work with.
“We are grateful and excited that they’ve decided to join the team.”Music Business Worldwide
