Spotify’s Daniel Ek Transitions From CEO to Executive Chairman

Daniel Ek, co-founder of Spotify, will step aside as CEO of the streaming giant and transition into a new role as executive chairman, effective January 1st, 2026.

As per Rolling Stone, Ek revealed his decision in a letter to Spotify staff on Tuesday, outlining a corporate restructure that will see Gustav Söderström, co-president and chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norström, co-president and chief business officer, assume joint CEO responsibilities. Both executives will continue reporting directly to Ek in his new capacity.

The transition represents more than a simple title change, with Ek emphasising his intention to remain deeply involved in steering Spotify’s future direction. His focus will shift to “strategy, capital allocation, regulatory efforts, and the calls that will shape the next decade for Spotify.” Unlike traditional chairman roles in American corporations, Ek stressed that his position will follow a “European Chairman setup” and be significantly more hands-on.

“I have always thought about roles as missions,” Ek explained in his staff letter. “At Spotify, I have had about nine missions while keeping the same title. In the early days, I assembled furniture and negotiated our first deals. I ran finance, I led product and then I led sales and then marketing.”

The leadership reshuffle occurs during a particularly challenging period for the streaming platform. Despite maintaining its position as the dominant music streaming service globally, Spotify continues grappling with long-standing criticisms regarding its royalty payout system. The company also faces emerging threats including the proliferation of AI-generated spam music and sophisticated streaming fraud schemes.

Additionally, Ek has become a focal point of artist protests due to his involvement with Helsing, a German defence technology company specialising in artificial intelligence applications. Several artists have removed their music from Spotify in response to these business ties, adding another layer of complexity to the platform’s relationship with its content creators.

Seemingly acknowledging the scrutiny surrounding Spotify, Ek noted at the beginning of his letter: “In the Spotify of today, all eyes (and ears) are on us. There’s not much we do that goes unnoticed.”