UMG Chairman & CEO Grainge first to top list six times – no other has achieved No. 1 more than once

SANTA MONICA, February 1, 2023 – Universal Music Group (UMG) Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge has been recognized as No. 1 on Billboard’s 2023 Power List for a record sixth time, and for the third consecutive year it was awarded, extending his own record as the only executive to win No. 1 more than once. In addition to 2023, Grainge led the magazine’s annual list of the most influential executives in music in 2022, 2020, 2019, 2016, 2015 and 2013. In 2020, Grainge was named the first-ever “Executive of the Decade”. No list was published in 2021. 

In presenting the award to Grainge, Billboard reflected on UMG’s first year as a public company, noting it released “three of the top five most-streamed songs in the United States, six of the top 10 biggest albums of the year in the United States by consumption units and the No. 1 label of the year in current market share in Republic Records” and that “business has been booming.”

Additional UMG executives named to Billboard’s list include: Michele Anthony, UMG’s Executive Vice President; Jody Gerson, Universal Music Publishing Group’s Chairman and CEO; Jeffrey Harleston, UMG’s General Counsel, Executive Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs; Boyd Muir, UMG’s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and President of Operations; Michael Nash, UMG’s Executive Vice President, Chief Digital Officer, and;  Will Tanous, UMG’s Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. 

Billboard also recognized many of UMG’s label and business unit heads including Republic Records Co-Founder and Chairman Monte Lipman; Republic Records Co-Founder and President Avery Lipman; Capitol Music Group Chairman and CEO Michelle Jubelirer; Interscope Geffen A&M Records Chairman and CEO John Janick; Def Jam Recordings Chairman and CEO Tunji Balogun; Island Records Co-CEO’s Justin Eshak and Imran Majid; Universal Music Latin America and Iberian Peninsula Chairman and CEO Jesus Lopez; Universal Music Enterprises President and CEO Bruce Resnikoff; Universal Music Group Nashville Chairman and CEO Mike Dungan, who will retire later this year was named on the list, alongside incoming Chair and CEO Cindy Mabe; Virgin Music Group Co-CEO’S JT Myers and Nat Pastor; and Virgin Music Label & Artist Services President, Jacqueline Saturn. 

At Universal Music Publishing Group, in addition to Gerson, Billboard recognized Chief Operating Officer Marc Cimino; President, Latin America and U.S. Latin Alexandra Lioutikoff; and Chairman and CEO Universal Music Publishing Nashville Troy Tomlinson. Billboard additionally recognized Def Jam Recordings Executive Vice President, President, 4th & Broadway LaTrice Burnette; Capitol Music Group President Arjun Pulijal; Republic Records Co-Presidents Wendy Goldstein and Jim Roppo; and Angel Kaminsky, President Universal Music Latino.

Many of UMG’s partners were recognized as well, including: Roc Nation founder Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Vice Chairman Jay Brown and CEO Desiree Perez; Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, CEO and Founder SAL&CO, XO Records and Universal Arabic Music; Disney Music Group President Ken Bunt; Primary Wave Founder and CEO Larry Mestel and President of Publishing Justin Shukat; Big Machine Label Group founder, president and CEO Scott Borchetta; Concord Music Group CEO Scott Pascucci, President Bob Valentine and Chief Publishing Officer Jim Selby; Rimas Entertainment Founder & CEO Noah Assad; HYBE Chairman Si-Hyuk Bang, CEO Jiwon Park, HYBE America CEO’s Scooter Braun and Lenzo Yoon; Quality Control Co-founder and CEO Pierre P Thomas, Co-founder and COO Kevin Coach K Lee; and Big Loud Partner and CEO Seth England.

In 2022, in the first full year since becoming a freestanding public company, UMG built on its track record of being the most successful company in the music industry, achieving new levels of growth, innovation and success. On the global charts, the performance of UMG artists and songwriters from around the world contributed to this success, with standout performances from artists, including: Taylor Swift; Olivia Rodrigo; The Weeknd; The Beatles, Kendrick Lamar; Drake; BTS; Karol G; Glass Animals; Imagine Dragons; Rammstein; Helene Fischer; ABBA; Elton John; Eminem; Justin Bieber; King & Prince; Lil Baby; and Billie Eilish, among many others.  

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