Universal Music Shakeup: Def Jam, Polydor, Interscope Execs to Exit as Company Completes 2024 Restructure Plan

The Universal Music Group has initiated the final phase of a three-part restructuring and cost-cutting plan first announced in 2024, with several high-profile executives set to exit the company, sources tell Billboard .

The company announced internally today (Oct.

14) that those who will be leaving their current posts include Ben Mortimer , president of Polydor Records in the U.K.; Tunji Balogun , chairman/CEO of Def Jam Recordings; Nicole Wyskoarko , president, head of urban a&r at Interscope Geffen A&M; Sam Riback , co-president and head of pop/rock A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M; Rebecca Allen , chief artist and strategy officer at UMG U.K., Mark Crossingham , managing director of UMG Ireland; Hannah Neaves , president of UM Recordings UK; and Ivo Sacchi , managing director of UMG in Switzerland and Austria, sources say.

Some, like Neaves and Allen, will take on consultancies with the company instead, and others, like Balogun, will be finishing out their roles for the rest of the year.

Other senior executives are also expected to be part of the cuts, which began this week.

Republic Records CEO Jim Roppo will also be leaving the company as part of the leadership changes.

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This includes Tyler Arnold , chairman/CEO of Mercury, and Jeffery Remedios , president/CEO of Republic Collective, taking on new leadership roles at Republic Records, effective immediately.

Island Records’ co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak will expand their roles within the East Coast labels, and Laura Carter , Ramon Alvarez-Smikle and Michelle Anthony taking on broader leadership roles at Interscope Geffen A&M.

Nickie Owen will take on an expanded role as president of global marketing at UMG U.K., Ulf Zick will take over UMG’s operations in Switzerland and Austria, and Nick Younger will take over as managing director of UMG Ireland.

It is unclear exactly what some of these new roles will look like still, but they are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

These layoffs and departures are a continuation of the cost-cutting plan announced in 2024, sources say.

As part of a 2024 earnings call, UMG called the plan a “strategic organizational redesign” that would result in 250 million euros ($271 million) in annual savings “by the end of 2026.” At the time, the company said that the reorganization would include reductions of 75 million euros (81.3 million) in 2024 and 125 million euros (135.5 million) in 2025.