Capitol Music Group bolsters marketing and artist development teams, with 6 execs appointed to VP roles – Music Business Worldwide

Capitol Music Group (CMG) has made six key Vice President appointments within its marketing departments.

CMG has named or promoted Jessica Eason, Zoe Gillespie, Katie Haffenden, Chris Kershaw, Byron Miller and Alex Williams to Vice President roles.

Announcing the appointments, CMG President Arjun Pulijal said: “Each of these individuals exemplifies the culture we’re building at CMG; one of innovative and strategic thinking combined with hard work, a passion for music and a belief in our artists that is inspiring and unwavering.

Added Pulijal: “I know that everyone at CMG joins me in congratulating Jessica, Zoe, Kate, Chris, Byron and Alex on their well-deserved promotions.”

Jessica Eason has been named Vice President of Marketing for Capitol Records, leading marketing efforts for some of the label’s breakout stars like Doechii (in partnership with Top Dawg Entertainment), Queen Naija, Toosii, Kay Flock and BlueBucksClan.

Before joining CMG in 2018 as Director of Marketing, Eason was Director of Marketing at Saban Brands where she handled marketing for Power Rangers, Cirque du Soleil and lifestyle and fashion brand Paul Frank.

At CMG, she worked with artists within Capitol Records and Motown Records such as Queen Naija, Vince Staples, Tiana Major9 and NE-YO. She was promoted to Senior Director of Marketing at Capitol Records in in 2021.

In her new role, Eason will also oversee marketing behind R&B icon Babyface’s first album in eight years, Girls Night Out. She will report to Capitol Records Senior Vice President of Marketing Ray Alba.

CMG also promoted Zoe Gillespie to Vice President of Brand Partnerships and Strategy, reporting to CMG President Arjun Pulijal. Gillespie’s team will be responsible for curating partnerships, securing national and global brand campaigns for artists, and supporting artist initiatives across the company’s portfolio of labels.

Gillespie started her career at Capitol Records in 2012 as a publicity intern and joined the company fill-time as Digital Marketing and Publicity coordinator in 2014. She was later promoted to Director of Brand Partnerships in 2018.

Gillespie’s recent achievements include the Katy Perry and LEGO global holiday campaign, FLETCHER’s Meet Her At The Bar Pride Month experience presented by Lyft and recent JD Sports Nike campaign. Her team was also behind an Uber collaboration for Babyface’s new album Girls Night Out.  

Additionally, Gillespie worked on partnerships with Halsey and Blizzard Entertainment, Troye Sivan and MAC Cosmetics, Paul McCartney and Postmates, Norah Jones and Parachute Home, among others.

Meanwhile, Kate Haffenden, who joined CMG in October 2021 after spending five years at Warner Records as Senior Director of International Marketing, has been promoted to Vice President of International Marketing, reporting directly to CMG Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, Kieran Thurgood.

Haffenden’s portfolio includes working on global campaigns for artists like Halsey, Maggie Rogers, Troye Sivan, Kay Flock, Diddy and Calum Scott. She spearheaded Scott’s local collaborations across Asia during the artist’s Bridges album campaign, driving more than 25 million TikTok views and over 50 million streams.

Before joining CMG, Haffended worked on catalog projects for WMG artists such as Madonna, Green Day, Led Zeppelin, Bad Boy Ent. and The Ramones.

CMG also promoted Chris Kershaw to Vice President of Marketing. He joined CMG in 2018 as Marketing Director after serving six years at Universal Music Group’s UK office where he was Senior Marketing Manager. In that role, he oversaw marketing for artists like AURORA, Gregory Porter, Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapelton.

Now based in Hollywood, Kershaw helped CMG execute marketing campaigns for artists including Sam Smith, FLETCHER, Katy Perry, Emeline and Natalie Jane. He oversaw the campaign behind Sam Smith’s recent #1 hit, ‘Unholy’ (with Kim Petras).

Kershaw will report directly to Capitol Records Senior Vice President of Marketing, Nathan Sheppard, in his new role.

“Each of these individuals exemplifies the culture we’re building at CMG; one of innovative and strategic thinking combined with hard work, a passion for music and a belief in our artists that is inspiring and unwavering.”

Arjun Pulijal, CMG 

Another key appointment at CMG is Byron Miller’s promotion to Vice President of Commercial Marketing, Streaming Strategy (Urban). Miller, who joined CMG in 2017 as Manager of Artist Marketing, led the launch of Babyface’s Girls Night Out, and expanded the editorial reach for Doechii, who was named one of Spotify’s US Radar Artists of 2022.

He also led the editorial and streaming strategies for artists and projects that include XXXTentacion’s ? album, which amassed over 40 billion streams worldwide, and Lil Baby’s My Turn, the highest-selling and streamed album of 2020 in the US.

In his new role, Miller will report to CMG Executive Vice President of Global Commercial Marketing & Strategy, Mike Sherwood.

CMG also named Alex Williams as Vice President of Gaming Strategy & Business Development, helping the label expand in the gaming and e-sports world. Williams will also help develop a comprehensive label strategy to drive growth for CMG within gaming culture, CMG says.

The company hinted at plans to expand its presence in the gaming world including creating original content across platforms like Twitch and Discord, and launching artist partnerships with publishers including Riot, Blizzard and EPiC Games.

Williams joined CMG from Coca-Cola, where he was head of North American Gaming and e-sports. His key projects included launching a global partnership with Activision Blizzard, Coke Energy global launch in partnership with 100Thieves, and overseeing Coca-Cola’s culture strategy and activations for e-sports.

Based in Atlanta, Williams will report to CMG Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy & Business Development Nic Osborne.

Music Business Worldwide