Deezer has named Alexis Lanternier as its new CEO.
Lanternier will succeed interim CEO Stu Bergen at the France-headquartered music streaming service, effective September 2, 2024.
Bergen will remain on Deezer’s Board of directors. Bergen was appointed interim CEO in March, following the departure of former CEO, Jeronimo Folgueira.
Lanternier will be based in the Deezer HQ in Paris, working closely with the board of directors and the Deezer leadership team.
Deezer said that the appointment will “position Deezer for continued profitable growth and innovation in the evolving music streaming industry”.
Deezer describes Alexis Lanternier “as a seasoned entrepreneur and experienced executive passionate about building digital consumer goods platforms across Europe, Asia and North America over the last 14 years”.
Most recently, he co-founded and developed Branded, a consumer goods company. Prior to this, Lanternier was EVP of Walmart Canada ecommerce, where, Deezer said, “he led the build-up of a multi-billion dollar online grocery business”.
Meanwhile, from 2014 to 2019, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Alibaba Group-owned e-commerce platform Lazada in Southeast Asia.
According to Deezer, as CEO of Lazada Singapore, Lanternier “drove the company to prominent market leadership by successfully steering his team through a 360 strategy”.
During his tenure as CEO, Lazada acquired online grocery startup Redmart and launched the LiveUp loyalty subscription, including content partnerships with Netflix and Uber.
Lanternier began his career as a Project Leader at Boston Consulting Group in France and the US, specializing in “large-scale transformation initiatives,” and later in several category management roles at Amazon in Media and Apparel.
“Deezer is an inspiring French tech pioneer and is uniquely positioned to support the major changes happening in the global music industry while ensuring all stakeholders benefit.”
Alexis Lanternier
“I’m thrilled to be joining Deezer at such a pivotal time,” said Alexis Lanternier.
“Deezer is an inspiring French tech pioneer and is uniquely positioned to support the major changes happening in the global music industry while ensuring all stakeholders benefit.”
Added Lanternier: “Its consistent strategy in favor of fair artist compensation, immersive and collaborative music experiences and its state of the art technology platform make it ideally positioned to seize future growth opportunities. I look forward to working with the talented team at Deezer to further strengthen our experiential platform as the innovator for music lovers.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Alexis Lanternier as the new CEO of Deezer. Alexis has an impressive background in leading dynamic organizations internationally as well as in France and driving transformative growth.”
Iris Knobloch, Deezer Board of Directors
Iris Knobloch, Chair of the Board of Directors of Deezer, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Alexis Lanternier as the new CEO of Deezer. Alexis has an impressive background in leading dynamic organizations internationally as well as in France and driving transformative growth.
“His vision for Deezer is compelling, and we are confident that his leadership will propel the company to new levels of success. As we continue to innovate and expand our offerings, Alexis’s expertise will be invaluable in navigating the evolving streaming landscape and delivering experiences to our users.
“On behalf of the board of directors, I also want to thank Stu Bergen for having succeeded in making his interim mission a period of consolidation and development for the company.”
Deezer’s consolidated revenues reached €132.5 million in Q1 2024, up 14.2% YoY at constant currency.
That revenue figure converts to USD $144 million at the average quarterly exchange rate published by the European Central Bank.
The company’s subscriber base reached 10.5 million in Q1, versus 9.3 million in Q1 2023, a 12.8% increase.Music Business Worldwide