Kobalt‘s Chief Operating Officer, Avid Larizadeh Duggan, is leaving the company, MBW has confirmed. Her last day is today (November 28).
The respected tech entrepreneur – a non-exec director on the board of Barclays Bank UK PLC – has been associated with Kobalt for the best part of five years, a relationship which began during Larizadeh Duggan’s tenure as a General Partner at Google Ventures.
London-based Larizadeh Duggan was a key figure behind GV’s decision to lead a $60m investment into Kobalt in February 2015. Kobalt formerly hired her as an employee in January last year, when she initially joined as EVP and Chief Strategy & Business Officer.
Earlier this year, Larizadeh Duggan was awarded an Honorary OBE by the Queen for services to the economy, business and education.
Confirming her exit from Kobalt, Larizadeh Duggan told MBW: “It’s been a privilege to contribute to making a better, fairer and more transparent music industry.”
“It’s been a privilege to contribute to making a better, fairer and more transparent music industry.”
Avid Larizadeh Duggan
A Kobalt spokesperson added: “We were thankful to have Avid serve Kobalt for over five years in various roles including investor, board member, and COO.
“She led the foundations to strengthen our tech platform, empowered our product team, and championed efficient and data-driven approach. She’s achieved a lot and we’re excited to support the next chapter of her career, which she is now pursuing.”
The founder and former CEO of Google Ventures, Bill Maris, was also heavily involved in GV’s 2015 investment into Kobalt. Maris later founded venture fund Section 32, which invested $14m in Kobalt in 2017, when Maris joined the music company’s Board of Directors.
“Avid has achieved a lot and we’re excited to support the next chapter of her career, which she is now pursuing.”
Kobalt spokesperson
MBW understands that Maris, a close friend of Kobalt boss Willard Ahdritz, stood down from Kobalt’s board earlier this month. He is believed to have made the move to focus more time on earlier stage investments.
Kobalt’s net revenues increased 25.3% in its 2018 financial year (to end of June ’18), up to $402m, as gross collections grew 30% to $494m.
Avid Larizadeh Duggan was a general partner at Google Ventures from 2014 to 2018.
Prior to GV, she co-founded Boticca, a global marketplace for independent brands of fashion accessories where she was COO running product, engineering and editorial. Boticca was acquired by Wolf & Badger.
The exec started investing at Accel Partners in London in 2006. She has been an active early investor in multiple companies, including as an angel investor in Okta (Nasdaq: OKTA).
She also held product management roles at Tellme Networks, Skype and eBay from which she holds a patent for her work.Music Business Worldwide
