The Company is led and controlled by a 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.
Chair
Appointed: 8 June 2018
Senior Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 30 July 2018
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 8 June 2018
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 27 November 2019
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 11 June 2021
Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 8 June 2018
Our Team is comprised of HSM (formerly TFM), its Advisory Board and HSG across multiple locations, including London, Los Angeles, New York and Nashville.
The Company’s Investment Adviser is Hipgnosis Song Management Limited (HSM), formerly The Family (Music) Limited (TFM), which was founded by Merck Mercuriadis.
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 the Investment Adviser in its entirety, but retains oversight through the Investment Advisory agreement.
CEO, HSM
Founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited and 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.
Mr Mercuriadis is the manager of music legend Nile Rodgers and the former manager of several notable award-winning artists and Songwriters including Sir Elton John, Guns’N’Roses, Iron Maiden, Morrissey, Pet Shop Boys, Mary J. Blige, Jane’s Addiction, Diane Warren and Justin Tranter to name a few. Additionally, Mercuriadis is notable for serving from 1986-2007 as Director and CEO of The Sanctuary Group PLC, a major management company, an independent record label, a merchandise company (Bravado) and a booking agency (Helter Skelter now CAA UK) based in London, New York and Los Angeles.
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.
Chief Music Officer, HSM
As Chief Music Officer, Ted is responsible for Hipgnosis relationships with songwriters, artists, management and the promotor community alongside the curation and promotion of the song catalogue.
Ted joined Hipgnosis in 2020 with 25 years’ experience of the music industry including 10 years at Sony music, 7 years as Co-President of Island Records, and nearly 8 years as President of Virgin EMI within the Universal Music Group. During this last tenure, Ted was instrumental in its unparalleled success which saw Virgin EMI become the UK’s number one label for seven successive years, managing the recording careers of artists including Queen, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Lewis Capaldi.
Through his career, Ted also handled the recorded music of artists such as Amy Winehouse, Florence & The Machine, Paul Weller, Mumford & Sons and Sir Tom Jones.
CFO, HSM
As Chief Financial Officer, Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Chris is responsible for financial controls, financial reporting, financial systems, corporate finance, banking relationships and investor relations including fund raising.
Chris has over 20 years’ experience in commercial financial management of music publishing and recorded music rights in a career which has included Universal Music Group, BMG Music, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music Publishing and PRS for Music.
He qualified at The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in 2002.
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.
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.
Chief Investment Officer, HSM
As Chief Investment Officer, Markku has overall responsibility for the investment activity including financial analysis, execution and management of catalogue acquisitions.
Markku joined Hipgnosis in 2022 from Private Equity House Pamplona Capital Management LLP, where he spent 17 years as a partner managing investments across several funds in Europe and North America. At the start of his career, he spent almost a decade as an investment banker based in London and New York.
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
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.
Executive Vice President Global Synch & Creative, HSM
Executive Vice President Global Synch, HSG
Co-President, HSG
Co-President, HSG
Executive Vice President, New York, HSG
Executive Vice President of Digital and Innovation, HSM
Chief People Officer, HSM
As Chief People Officer, Kath is responsible for People activities across HIpgnosis Songs Management and Hipgnosis Sonds Fund, ensuring the colleague experience is exciting and rewarding and working was part of the leadership team to align the people strategy with the goals and aspirations of the fund.
Kath joined Hipgnosis in October 2022 and joins with 20 years’ experience in Human Resources as well 10 years in Finance in her early career. She has held roles at ComparetheMarket.com, BGL Group, Experian, Capital One and Arthur Andersen as well as more recently working with mid maturity businesses in the Fintech and Entertainment industry.
The Investment Adviser 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 the Investment Adviser.