Universal Music Australia (UMA) has announced the promotion and appointment of Sean Warner to President, Universal Music Australia & New Zealand effective January 1, 2023.
Warner succeeds George Ash, who previously announced his intention to retire from his position at UMA.
Having joined UMA in 2007 as National Sales Manager, Warner most recently served as Senior Vice President of Commercial, responsible for the commercial growth, innovation and digital development of UMA & New Zealand.
As such, Warner has led UMA’s commercial business over the past 15 years, in addition to overseeing commercial strategy in Southeast Asia (SEA), launching Bravado’s Merchandise and licensing operations in the Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) region, and developing UMA’s eCommerce business.
Warner said, “It is an honour and a privilege to take on this role as President of Universal Music Australia & New Zealand. As the region’s leading music company, we will continue to innovate and evolve our businesses, and support our artists and labels as they deliver the very best music and culture to fans.
“I look forward to working hand in hand with my colleagues to build on our successes together and would like to thank Sir Lucian for his belief in me, and to George for his friendship, faith and guidance during my time at UMA.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG said, “Sean’s deep understanding of the Australian market combined with his operational experience and the respect he has earned from his UMG colleagues and artists – both domestic and international – makes him the ideal executive to take on the role of President. I’m confident he will expand our track record of creative and commercial success in a market that is so culturally important.”
Sean Warner is the second new major record company boss to be appointed in Australia this year, following Sony Music‘s hiring of Vanessa Picken this summer as Chair and CEO of the firm in Oz and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Dan Rosen started in his role as President of Warner Music Australiasia in February 2021.
Earlier this year, Sean Warner launched Commercial+, a centralized division within UMA built to add value to each area of the business, providing support and strategy across Social, Streaming, Content, Data and Audience, eCommerce, Commercial partnerships, Catalogue and Sales, and dedicated to creating opportunities for artists and labels within ANZ and globally.
Prior to working at UMA, Warner held senior roles across Music, Media and Entertainment organizations including BMG Interactive, Sony PlayStation, DMX Music and Foxtel after studying commerce majoring in Accounting and Law. In addition, he serves as the Chair of the AMTD Fundraising committee for the music charity organization SupportAct and has been instrumental in attracting a number of high-profile artists to UMA.Music Business Worldwide
