Spotify announced today, September 30, that co-founder Daniel Ek will step down from his role as chief executive officer in January 2026 to become executive chair of the company.
Beginning January 1, 2026, Spotify's current co-presidents — Gustav Söderström, and Alex Norström — will assume the roles of co-CEOs. Both will report directly to Ek in his new role as executive chair.
In an official press release, Ek emphasized that the leadership transition formalizes a structure that has already been in practice: “I’ve already turned over a large part of the day-to-day management and strategic direction of Spotify to Alex and Gustav,” he said. “This change simply matches titles to how we already operate.”
Ek also addressed the leadership transition directly on his social media channels; watch it below.
This move comes after months of rising controversy for Ek, including artists pulling their music from the streaming platform over his investments in military drone technology. Just last week, the company tried to return to the public’s good graces by implementing stronger AI safeguards and removing 75 million ‘spammy’ tracks.
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