Spotify founder Daniel Ek will be stepping down as CEO at the start of next year as he transitions into a new role as executive chairman, the music streaming service announced on Tuesday.
In his place, current co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström will become the company’s co-CEOs, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
“I always believed that Spotify could play an important role in revolutionizing listening around the world, and with more than 700 million users, we’ve truly charted a new course bringing creativity to every corner of the globe,” Ek said in a statement. “Over the last few years, I’ve turned over a large part of the day-to-day management and strategic direction of Spotify to Alex and Gustav — who have shaped the company from our earliest days and are now more than ready to guide our next phase. This change simply matches titles to how we already operate. In my role as executive chairman, I will focus on the long arc of the company and keep the Board and our co-CEOs deeply connected through my engagement.”
Söderström currently serves as chief product and technology officer, while Norström is chief business officer.
“We’ve worked together a very long time and have seen Spotify through many different chapters. Nearly three years ago, when we stepped into our role as co-presidents, we charged our teams with relentlessly focusing on building the best and most valuable experience available anywhere and that ambition hasn’t changed,” the pair shared in a joint statement. “While we bring different experiences and perspectives to the CEO role, we both have a strong bias to action and can’t wait to get started knowing that we will have Daniel’s full partnership and ongoing support.”
Ek founded Spotify with Martin Lorentzon in April 2006, and it has since become one of the largest music platforms and is synonymous with the streaming genre.
