Spotify has announced a major leadership reshuffle, with Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek set to assume the role of Executive Chairman. The company has named Gustav Söderström, currently co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Alex Norström, co-President and Chief Business Officer, as its new co-Chief Executive Officers. The leadership changes will come into effect on January 1, 2026.
The two incoming co-CEOs will report to Ek and are also expected to join the company’s Board of Directors, pending shareholder approval.
Ek’s responsibilities as Executive Chairman will be aligned with a European-style Chairman model. He will oversee capital allocation, define Spotify’s long-term direction, and continue to mentor and support senior leadership.
Daniel Ek, commenting on the leadership restructuring, said, “I always believed that Spotify could play an important role in revolutionizing listening around the world, and with more than 700 million users, we’ve truly charted a new course bringing creativity to every corner of the globe. Over the last few years, I’ve turned over a large part of the day-to-day management and strategic direction of Spotify to Alex and Gustav–who have shaped the company from our earliest days and are now more than ready to guide our next phase. This change simply matches titles to how we already operate. In my role as Executive Chairman, I will focus on the long arc of the company and keep the Board and our co-CEOs deeply connected through my engagement.”
Woody Marshall, Lead Independent Director of Spotify’s Board, said, “The Board has been working closely with Daniel on the evolution of Spotify’s leadership structure for several years. We have tremendous confidence in Alex and Gustav as they step into these roles. They each have more than fifteen years with the company and have been instrumental in driving our success and enabling Spotify to lead our industry. We are also thrilled that Daniel will be actively involved, giving Spotify both founder-led strategic stewardship and mentorship to the co-CEOs as the company continues to innovate and scale.”
Söderström and Norström, in a joint statement, added, “We’ve worked together a very long time and have seen Spotify through many different chapters. Nearly three years ago, when we stepped into our role as co-Presidents, we charged our teams with relentlessly focusing on building the best and most valuable experience available anywhere and that ambition hasn’t changed. While we bring different experiences and perspectives to the CEO role, we both have a strong bias to action and can’t wait to get started knowing that we will have Daniel’s full partnership and ongoing support.”
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