Universal Music Australia names Sean Warner as new boss after George Ash retires
A leading Australian record label has named its new boss after its former president stood down.
Confidential
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Universal Music Australia has moved swiftly to announce a replacement for its top executive following the departure of George Ash from the post.
In the major shake-up, Sean Warner has been appointed President of Universal Music Australia and New Zealand from January 1.
He has been with the label for 15 years and steps up to the most senior role within the company from his most recent position of Senior Vice President of Commercial.
“It is an honour and a privilege to take on this role as President of Universal Music Australia and New Zealand,” Warner said.
“As the region’s leading music company, we will continue to innovate and evolve our businesses, and support our artists and labels as they deliver the very best music and culture to fans. I look forward to working hand-in-hand with my colleagues to build on our successes together and would like to thank Sir Lucian for his belief in me, and to George for his friendship, faith and guidance during my time at UMA.”
Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge said: “Sean’s deep understanding of the Australian market combined with his operational experience and the respect he has earned from his UMG colleagues and artists — both domestic and international — makes him the ideal executive to take on the role of President. I’m confident he will expand our track record of creative and commercial success in a market that so culturally important.”
Ash’s departure was announced on Monday.
“The time is right for me to step down from Universal,” Ash said in a statement.
“I feel confident that with the brilliant leadership group we have now, the organisation will continue to grow and thrive.
“I am excited by the changes we have made in the region in the past couple of years and look forward to seeing the team and incredible rosters of artists, flourish in the future.”
The announcement follows months of speculation about Universal’s Australian operations.
In August, Ash announced an investigation into workplace culture at the company after a number of allegations were levelled at the label.
Regarding an incident in which he was involved, Ash reportedly said in a statement: “I had a complaint recently raised against myself around a joke I made in a Zoom meeting. It was insensitive, and that went through the appropriate processes and I apologised to everyone in the company who was impacted by it.”
Universal is the biggest record company in the world in terms of market share.
Its international artist roster includes the likes of Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Sam Smith and Kendrick Lamar on its books.
Ash’s departure follows a shake-up at Sony Music Australia with former label boss Denis Handlin ousted from his position some 18 months ago. Handlin was replaced by respected music executive Vanessa Picken.
More broadly, the music business here and internationally is under increasing pressure to tackle issues around diversity, gender and workplace bullying.
Ash’s departure was announced in a statement issued by Universal Music’s Global Communications Senior Vice President James Murtagh-Hopkins.
It states Ash “will leave the organisation as part of a long-planned personal decision to focus on new goals and projects” and that a successor will be announced at a later date.
Of Ash, Sir Grainge said: “Under George’s leadership, the UMA team has delivered countless local and international artist successes in this incredibly dynamic market. We are grateful to George for his dedication to, and passion for, our artists, and for the historic achievements of UMA during his tenure.”
Numerous key management changes have been made at Universal Music over the past six months.
In June, a company-wide email was issued to announce the results of a leadership team workshop from May.
“As you may know, the leadership team held a face-to-face workshop on the 26 May focused on both understanding the current culture as well as setting a united view on what we expect in the culture, so that UMA can be insanely successful 3-5 years from now,” the email read. “It was a great day that generated tremendous energy and commitment from all on this team. We all agreed that there’s so much that is awesome about UMA, and it is clear that we are connected by our love of music, our work and an appreciation for the people we have around us.
“However, we also acknowledged that our culture has some relics from the past that are holding us back and need to be addressed to move forward.”
In a subsequent company-wide call on Friday, Ash said: “Everything isn’t perfect for everyone.”
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