Picken Named Chair/CEO, SMN Australia & NZ

• Sony Music Entertainment (SME) has appointed Vanessa Picken as Chair & CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand, starting in September. Picken will be based in Sydney and oversee all operations, artist signings, marketing, and business partnerships for the Company, while also forging new partnerships for artists with other Sony companies and identifying new opportunities for artists across multiple entertainment channels such as music, TV, film, podcasting, gaming and more.

Picken will report to Rob Stringer, Chairman, Sony Music Group, who noted, “After a careful and thorough recruitment process, we are delighted to have Vanessa join our company in such a key role. Her impressive background covers so many areas of the modern music business in Australia and New Zealand and her recent leadership experience in the United States adds a global understanding to those existing skills. We believe Vanessa will be a trailblazing executive leading Sony Music Australia to an exciting future.”

Picken most served as Managing Director of independent global music company [PIAS] in Los Angeles, overseeing the growth and restructure of the company’s label group and distribution business. Picken previously ran Digital Strategy across America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, overseeing the Company’s digital activities including digital marketing, social media and the exploitation of the organization’s audio recordings and audio-visual recordings through commercial digital music platforms. Picken is also the founder of digital agency and label services company, Comes With Fries and is the co-curator of Fastforward Sydney, a music technology conference for industry leaders. Picken started her career at EMI Music Australia in 2006.

“I’m delighted to be coming home to join Sony Music Australia and New Zealand to take the company into a transformative next chapter,” Picken said. “Our strategies will focus on music, allyship, and innovation, with a global mindset. Sony Music has a renowned reputation for empowering its artists and creators, breaking down traditional barriers to put them at the center of everything it does. We will reaffirm our commitment to the discovery and development of new and emerging talent across both countries, as well as expanding the commercial and creative opportunities for our roster of artists locally and internationally.”