Spotify has appointed Netflix alumnus Chris Whiteley to the position of Managing Director for Northern Europe.
Whiteley made the announcement in a LinkedIn post on Monday (March 17), commenting that “Spotify is an amazing company with a service I love and use daily – I am proud to be one of our 675 million users!”
Whiteley describes himself as “a growth-focused leader with 25 years of experience of successfully leading teams and building new businesses, partnerships and new revenues in digital and media companies.”
Most recently, Whiteley served as Managing Director for Business Development at Netflix in London. During his nearly ten-year stint at the company, he held positions as VP of Business Development for the EMEA region, and as Director of Business Development for the UK and Ireland.
Prior to his time at Netflix, Whiteley served for nearly four years at BBC Worldwide, where he held the position of Senior Vice President for Digital, among others.
According to Spotify’s job description on LinkedIn, the Managing Director for Northern Europe is responsible for coordinating the marketing, music, and podcast functions across the region. The role is located in London.
“We have a clear purpose and are at such an exciting point in the Spotify journey,” Whiteley wrote. “I look forward to working with amazing colleagues, leading a highly talented team and deepening our partnerships with our creators. And all in the interest of delighting my fellow Spotify users.”
Whiteley’s appointment comes less than a year after Spotify named Federica Tremolada to the position of General Manager for Europe, succeeding Michael Krause in the role.
Based in Milan, Tremolada had served as Spotify’s Managing Director for Southern and Eastern Europe since 2019, before taking the GM Europe role.
Whiteley’s appointment comes at a time when Spotify has been busily expanding its consumer offer in Europe, including with the introduction last October of audiobooks in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
In 2024, Spotify posted a USD $1.495 billion operating profit, making it the first full year of profitability for the 19-year-old streaming service.
While CEO Daniel Ek has stressed that the company is shifting focus from accumulating users to better monetization of subscribers and operating efficiencies, Spotify continues to grow its paid subscriber base, which reached 263 million at the end of 2024, up 11% year over year.Music Business Worldwide