Spotify Announces "Leadership Transition" As Daniel Ek Steps Back As CEO

Streaming company Spotify has announced today that CEO Daniel Ek will become Executive Chairman from January 2026 in a move they term a “leadership evolution”.

The company will appoint two co-Chief Executive Officers from within, as current co-President and CTO Gustav Söderström and co-President and Chief Business Officer Alex Norström transition into co-CEO roles, reporting to Ek.

Pending shareholder approval, Ek will also serve on the company’s Board of Directors. The announcement states that the arrangement will formalise what has largely been the operational case for the company since 2023.

“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,” said Daniel Ek.

“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.”

Spotify’s lead independent board director Woody Marshall said the transition had been evolving over several years and that the new CEOs each have more than fifteen years with the business, creating an easy landing for the new positions.

“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,” he said.

Ek has been under pressure of late, with his Chairmanship of European military defence firm Helsing raising the ire of artists such as Massive Attack and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard who have left the platform in protest.

In the wake of the exits, Helsing issued a statement in an attempt to correct the “misinformation” surrounding the company’s activities.

“Currently we see misinformation spreading that Helsing’s technology is deployed in war zones other than Ukraine,” they wrote. “This is not correct. Our technology is deployed to European countries for deterrence and for defence against the Russian aggression in Ukraine only.”

Spotify have also publicly clarified that they are two separate companies and that Spotify has no connection to Helsing other than Ek’s shared chairmanship of the companies. It is unlikely that Ek’s move to the chairman role will alay the criticism, given that the new CEOs will still report to Ek.

Locally, ARIA nominees Gut Health have criticised the industry body for accepting sponsorship from Spotify, citing Ek’s Helsing investment as well as criticising royalty flows. Despite that, the band continue to stream their music on the platform, with the band currently enjoying the support of over 34,000 monthly listeners.

Spotify have also announced new measures this month to strengthen AI protections for artists , removing more than 75 million “spammy” tracks from the service and creating clear guidelines around the use of AI and artist impersonation.