The message was surprising. Spotify's stock – one of the winners of the year on Wall Street with a price increase of over 60 percent – is being pushed down by 3 percent after the news.
42-year-old Daniel Ek has been Spotify's face outward since the start almost 20 years ago. But Ek is clear that he as executive chairman from the turn of the year will be more involved in the management of Spotify than what a chairman of the board usually is in a listed company in the US.
"Friend, coach and cheerleader"
Ek describes it as that he will act more like an active European chairman of the board than an American one. Among other things, he will keep an office at the company to support the new managers in their work.
As a friend, coach and cheerleader, he says on a telephone conference with investors.
In a post on X, Ek describes what is happening now as a "new phase in Spotify's journey", where his role is taken over by Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström. Then both will share the role of CEO.
The reason we are doing this now is that Gustav and Alex are doing a fantastic job of leading the company after stepping into the roles of deputy CEO at the beginning of 2023, says Ek.
He points, among other things, to various investments that the duo is behind, including video podcasts and audiobook investments.
Both Norström and Söderström will be nominated as the company's top executives to take a seat on Spotify's board, according to Ek – a proposal that must be approved by the shareholders.
According to Ek, his withdrawal from the CEO role is actually just a formal adaptation to how it actually already works at Spotify when it comes to leadership in the company.
Spotify stock down
Ek mentions that both of the incoming managers have worked for over 15 years within Spotify in the role of technology and product manager respectively business manager. And he himself has already handed over large parts of the daily management to the duo.
The formal change takes place from January 1, which means that Ek will be involved in presenting Spotify's next quarterly report on November 4.
However, I will continue to be involved in Spotify and help Gustav and Alex on the journey, says Ek.
Daniel Ek founded Spotify together with Martin Lorentzon in 2006 and was involved in taking the company to the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.
