Spotify has announced a major leadership shake-up as founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek will step down from his role in January 2026 and transition to Executive Chairman.
The company disclosed on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, that Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Alex Norström, Chief Business Officer, will take over as co-Chief Executive Officers.
Both executives, who have been with Spotify for over 15 years, will also join the company’s Board of Directors, subject to shareholder approval.
What the leadership said
Ek, who founded Spotify in 2006 and helped scale it into the world’s largest audio streaming service with over 700 million users, said the move formalizes what is already happening inside the company.
“Over the last few years, I’ve turned over much of the day-to-day management and strategic direction of Spotify to Alex and Gustav,”
“This change simply matches titles to how we already operate. As Executive Chairman, I will focus on the long arc of the company.” Ek said.
Woody Marshall, Lead Independent Director of Spotify’s Board, noted that the transition has been carefully planned for several years.
“We have tremendous confidence in Alex and Gustav.
“They have been instrumental in driving Spotify’s success and enabling the company to lead our industry,” Marshall said
In a joint statement, Söderström and Norström stressed continuity in Spotify’s mission. “When we became co-presidents nearly three years ago, we tasked our teams with building the best and most valuable experience anywhere. That ambition hasn’t changed,” they said. “We are eager to step into this role with Daniel’s full support.”
What we know
This change is the culmination of a leadership structure that has been in place since 2023, when Söderström and Norström became co-presidents. In those roles, they led most of Spotify’s strategy and operations while Ek increasingly focused on broader, long-term initiatives.
As Executive Chairman, Ek will now take on responsibilities more common in European governance models. His role will center on capital allocation, defining Spotify’s long-term strategy, and ensuring strong collaboration between the board and management.
The leadership transition comes as Spotify pushes beyond music into podcasts and audiobooks, while competing with Apple, Amazon, and YouTube. For investors, the shift shows the company’s emphasis on governance stability and continuity in execution while still retaining Ek’s founder-driven strategic vision.
