Hipgnosis Songs Fund is led and controlled by an independent Board of Directors, which is collectively responsible for the longterm success of the Company. It does so by acting in the interests of the Company, creating and preserving value and has as its foremost principle to act in the interests of Shareholders.
Chairman
Appointed: 7 November 2023
Chairman of the Board and Non-Executive Independent Director
Skills and Experience
Mr Naylor has more than 25 years’ experience in capital markets, specialising in investment companies. He is Chief Executive Officer of Intuitive Investments Group plc, an investment company which is quoted on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, providing investors with exposure to a portfolio of fast-growing life sciences and technology businesses. Mr Naylor is also a non-executive director of Light Science Technologies plc, an AIM-quoted controlled environment agriculture company.
Until October 2023, Mr Naylor was non-executive Chairman of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited, prior to its sale to a company directly owned by Alchemy Copyrights, LLC, trading as Concord. Previously Mr Naylor has held various positions within JP Morgan Asset Management Limited, Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited and Cenkos Securities plc. He is a qualified chartered accountant, having started his career with Ernst & Young in 1996.
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 8 June 2018
Non-executive Independent Director and Chair of the Remuneration Committee
Skills and Experience
Mr Holden is a Chartered Director (Cdir) and Fellow of the Institute of Directors and adds extensive private equity investing and corporate operations experience to the Company’s Board. Previously an investment director at Terra Firma Capital Partners and Candover Investments prior to that, Simon has been an active independent director to listed investment trusts, private equity funds and trading company boards since 2015. In addition, Simon acts as the probono Business Adviser to the States of Guernsey’s Trading Assets that operate all of the Bailiwick’s critical airports, harbours and maritime fuel supply infrastructure.
Simon graduated from the University of Cambridge with an Meng and MA (Cantab) in Manufacturing Engineering. He is a member of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), Institute of Directors (IoD), Guernsey Investment Funds Association (GIFA) and several other financial services and intellectual property interest groups.
Listed Company Roles (other than Hipgnosis Songs Fund)
HICL Infrastructure Plc (HICL), Chrysalis Investments Ltd. (CHRY), J.P. Morgan Global Core Real Assets Ltd. (JARA)
Non-executive Independent Director
Appointed: 6 November 2023
Non-executive Independent Director
Skills and Experience
Mr Keeling is an experienced media and music industry professional and is EVP of Business Development at Orfium, a leader in rights management solutions. He was a Non-Executive Director at Round Hill Music Royalty Fund Limited until its sale in October 2023. He previously served as SVP International Digital for Discovery and as Global Head of Licensing at Spotify, responsible for all music licensing with record labels, publishers and collecting societies.
Previously Mr Keeling was Global Head of Digital Business for Universal Music Group for nearly 10 years, spearheading recorded music licensing for all digital music services.
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 15 December 2023
Non-executive Independent Director
Skills and Experience
Mr. Mills founded Harwood Capital Management in 2011, a successor to its former parent company JO Hambro Capital Management, which he co-founded in 1993 and of which he was formerly the Chief Investment Officer.
He is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Investment Manager of North Atlantic Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc, a UK listed investment trust, and a Non-executive Director of several companies including Assetco plc, MJ Gleeson plc and Oryx International Growth Fund Limited.
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 August 2023
Non-executive Independent Director
Skills and Experience
Ms Rampersaud is a Chartered Accountant with considerable experience across a range of organisations within the education, entertainment, media and charitable sectors. She previously held senior executive roles at Virgin, Warner Brothers, EMI, the Department for Education and, most recently, Pearson, where she headed up the global BTEC and apprenticeships business.
Ms Rampersaud is currently a non-executive director of Sage Housing and an advisory board member and chair of audit & risk at the UK Health Security Agency. She is also a trustee of both The London Film School and the Consumers’ Association (the publishers of Which?).
Our Team is comprised of Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM), its Advisory Board and HSG across multiple locations, including London, Los Angeles, New York and Nashville.
On 10 September 2020 Hipgnosis Songs Fund acquired the entire share capital of Big Deal Music Group, which was renamed Hipgnosis Songs Group (HSG). The management of the employees has been delegated to HSM – its Investment Adviser – in its entirety, but retains oversight through the Investment Advisory agreement.
CEO, HSM
Founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited and Founder and CEO of its Investment Adviser, Hipgnosis Song Management.
CEO and managing partner of Hipgnosis Songs Ltd, an artist management firm label based in London and Los Angeles.
Merck has 40 years’ music industry experience. He has managed iconic artists including Nile Rodgers, Sir Elton John, Beyoncé, Iron Maiden, Pet Shop Boys and Guns N’ Roses. An unrivalled network and reputation within the songwriting community as a trusted custodian of songs has enabled him to complete over 150 catalogue purchases. Merck is a vigorous campaigner for songwriters to receive a fair share of music revenues.
President and COO, HSM
As President and Chief Operating Officer, Ben leads the daily operations of the business. Ben oversees the maximization of opportunities for the administered catalogues as well as leading on strategic initiatives, such as the development of Hipgnosis’ proprietary technology and data platform.
Ben joined Hipgnosis in 2022. He has almost two decade’s experience working in the music industry with particular expertise in the commercial and operational management of songs and recordings. Most recently he was Chief Operating Officer at BMG where he spent 7 years helping to enable the company’s rapid growth. Ben began his career at Counterpoint Systems, the leading provider of music rights and royalties software solutions, where he worked across software engineering, product management and professional services consulting.
CFO, HSM
Appointed: 1 September 2023
As Chief Financial Officer, Dan is responsible for financial controls, financial reporting, financial systems, corporate finance and banking relationships for HSM and its client funds.
Dan has over two decades’ experience in accountancy and music finance, including senior executive roles at BMG, Viacom, Famous Music and Sony Music Publishing where he worked for over a decade. Dan completed his accountancy training with Deloitte and was admitted into the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 2003. He was subsequently admitted as a Fellow in 2013.
General Counsel, HSM
Appointed: 1 October 2023
As General Counsel, Jon is responsible for overseeing the legal aspects of the catalogue acquisition work carried out on behalf of HSM clients, as well as music legal and business affairs, governance and compliance matters.
Jon has almost 20 years of legal experience, including over a decade focused on the music industry across both publishing and recorded music rights. He joined from BMG, where he was General Counsel UK and EVP Legal and Business Affairs International. Prior to joining BMG in 2012, he worked at Simkins, the highly regarded media and entertainment firm.
Jon studied law at the University of Warwick.
EVP, HSM
Head of Synch, HSM
Chief Creative, Marketing & Culture Officer, HSM
As Chief Creative Officer, Rosa oversees all the creative aspects of the business including branding and seeking new opportunities for Hipgnosis’ catalogue through creative ideas.
Rosa has been involved in the music business for over a decade working with international artists in various management and marketing roles. She was part of the launch team for Hipgnosis and alongside her duties at Hipgnosis remains actively involved with the Songwriter and Artist communities.
EVP Content Creation, HSM
Director, Investor Relations, HSM
As Investor Relations director, Rufina is the primary point of contact for Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s shareholder and is responsible for the fund’s communication with the financial market.
Rufina joined Hipgnosis in 2020 to lead the Investor Relations function. She had previously spent over a decade at UBS in sell-side equity research and global sales. She was a lead equity analyst in the financials team.
Corporate Affairs Director, HSM
As Corporate Affairs Director, Giles is responsible for Hipgnosis’ communications with internal and external stakeholder, using communications to support delivery of Hipgnosis’ corporate strategy.
Giles joined Hipgnosis in 2022. He has over 20 years’ experience in corporate communications having worked in senior in-house roles in blue-chip companies and advised many more during his time in consultancy. He also spent nearly a decade as a broadcast journalists working on some of the UK’s most popular factual programmes.
Chief Strategy Officer, HSG
CEO, HSG
As CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kenny directs the Hipgnosis US operations, overseeing administration, copyright registration and royalty collection; the music licensing team and its strategic effort in film, television and advertising; and the acquisition, development and monetization of new writers and artists and their output in the world’s biggest market.
Hipgnosis Songs Group, formerly Big Deal Music, was purchased by Hipgnosis in 2020. Under Kenny’s leadership, as a founder and CEO, the company rose in just 7 years from start-up to a consistent top 10 market share leader and industry model. Over 40 years, as publishing executive at Warner Chappell and Chrysalis Music, Kenny and his team have made vital contributions to the work and career paths of a diverse collection of talent including the Blue Nile, Underworld, Dan Wilson/Semisonic, Daniel Lanois, Outkast, Radiohead, Afghan Whigs, Julian Bunetta and John Ryan. He has served on the NMPA since first elected in 2018.
Hipgnosis Song Management has assembled an Advisory Board of highly successful music industry experts which include award winning members of the artist, songwriter, publishing, legal, financial, recorded music and music management communities, all with in-depth knowledge of music publishing. Members of Hipgnosis Song Management Limited Advisory Board include Nile Rodgers, The-Dream, Giorgio Tuinfort, Starrah, David A. Stewart, Poo Bear, Bill Leibowitz, Ian Montone and Rodney Jerkins.
The Advisory Board assists Hipgnosis Song Management.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee, Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Grammy award-winning songwriter, producer and musician. Founder of the band Chic. Co-writer and producer of iconic hits for David Bowie, Madonna, Duran Duran and Daft Punk.
Grammy award-winning songwriter, producer and musician. Wrote and produced iconic hits for Beyoncé, Jay Z, Kanye West, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber.
One of the most successful songwriters, artists and producers of all time. His work with Eurythmics, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Shakespears Sister, No Doubt, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton amongst many others, defines its era.
Amongst the most important young songwriters having written 14 hit singles thus far including the Number 1 Song Havana by Camila Cabello and Girls Like You by Maroon 5. Havana was the biggest Song in the world in 2018.
Grammy Award winning super-producer and a formidable musical force, with a trail of outstanding accomplishments. He has added to the hit lists of music talents such as Whitney Houston, George Michael, Mariah Carey, Sam Smith, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Drake, Big Sean, Toni Braxton, Britney Spears, Cher, Destiny’s Child, TLC, N’Sync, Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls, Maroon 5 and countless others. These artists know that having the “Darkchild” touch on their Song puts it on the fast track toward reaching Number One.
Attorney, founding partner of Roberts, Leibowitz and Hafitz PLLC. Former COO and General Counsel for The Sanctuary Group (and continued in this capacity after The Sanctuary Group was acquired by Universal Music Group until Bill returned to private practice). Specialises in intellectual property law and during his legal career of 35 years he has represented many renowned artists and major international intellectual property companies.
Grammy award winning songwriter and one of the most important pop writers of the last 10 years. The partner of choice for David Guetta and Akon. He has written Number 1 Songs for Sia, Gwen Stafani and Ariana Grande.
Multi-platinum producer, singer and songwriter aficionado, Jason Boyd, better known to the masses as Poo Bear, is a five-time Grammy winning musical force of nature having sold over 500 million records worldwide. Best known for his unforgettable collaborations with Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber.
Attorney and founder of Monotone Management. Manager of Jack White, The White Stripes, Vampire Weekend, The Shins and Danger Mouse.