Chris Whiteley Takes on Role as Managing Director for Northern Europe at Spotify

Spotify Appoints New Managing Director

Spotify has announced the appointment of Chris Whitley, a former Netflix executive, as the new managing director for Northern Europe.

Whitley shared his excitement in a Post on LinkedIn on March 17, stating, “Spotify is an amazing company with a service that I love and use daily – I am proud to be part of our 675 million users!”

He describes himself as “a leader-oriented leader with 25 years of experience in successfully leading teams and creating new enterprises, partnerships, and revenue in digital and media companies.”

Previous Experience and Responsibilities

Most recently, Whitley served as the managing director for business development at Netflix in London. During nearly a decade with the company, he also held roles as Vice President for Business Development in the EMEA region and director of business development in the UK and Ireland.

Before joining Netflix, Whitley spent almost four years at the BBC, where he held the position of senior vice president of Digital, among other roles.

According to the job description on LinkedIn, the Northern Europe Managing Director is tasked with coordinating marketing, music, and podcast functions across the region. The role is based in London.

“We have a clear goal, and we are at such an exciting point at Spotify,” Whitley expressed. “I look forward to collaborating with amazing colleagues, leading a talented team, and strengthening our partnerships with our creators.”

Whitley’s appointment comes less than a year after Spotify named Federica Tremolada as the general manager for Europe, succeeding Michael Krause in the position.

Basing in Milan, Tremolada had served as the managing director of Spotify in Southern and Eastern Europe since 2019 before stepping into the GM role for Europe.

Whitley takes on this new role as Spotify continues to diligently expand its offerings in Europe, including the recent introduction of audiobooks in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg last October.

In 2024, Spotify reported an operating profit of 1.495 billion US dollars, marking the first profitable year for the 19-year-old streaming service.

So far, CEO Daniel Ek has highlighted the company’s shift from user acquisition to enhancing subscriber monetization and operational efficiency, as Spotify continues to grow its paid subscriber base, achieving 263 million by the end of 2024, reflecting a 11% year-on-year increase.