Spotify founder Daniel Ek is formally ending his tenure as CEO of the audio-streaming giant.
As of Jan. 1, 2026, Ek will “transition” to the role of executive chairman of Spotify, the company said Tuesday. At that time, Gustav Söderström, currently co-president and chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer, will become Spotify’s co-CEO. Söderström and Norström will report to Ek and both will also serve on the company’s board of directors (subject to shareholder approval).
According to the company, the executive change “formalizes how Spotify has successfully operated since 2023 with the co-presidents largely leading strategic development and operational execution of Spotify.” As executive chairman, Ek’s role “will more closely reflect a European chairman setup,” where he will oversee capital allocation and scope out the long-term future and strategy for Spotify while continuing to provide support and guidance to its senior team.
“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,” Ek said in a statement. “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.”
The incoming co-CEOs have each been with Spotify for more than 15 years and have been heavily involved in operations and strategy, Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin wrote in a research note. “Leadership transition always brings risk, but succession is inevitable, and this one appears to be as orderly as possible,” he wrote. That said, Dolgin added, “Naming co-CEOs and still having Ek overseeing long-term strategic direction can bring more risk than having a more singular authority. We’ve compared Spotify with Netflix in their respective industries, and Spotify’s succession from founder to internally hired co-CEOs is another mirror.”
Ek, 42, founded Spotify in 2006 and has been a member of the board since July 21, 2008. Prior to Spotify, he founded Advertigo, an online advertising company acquired by Tradedoubler, held various senior roles at the Nordic auction company Tradera (which was acquired by eBay), and served as chief technology officer at Stardoll, a fashion and entertainment community for pre-teens.
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 15 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.”
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The new co-CEOs said in a joint statement, “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 roles 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.”
From Variety US