ALISON DONALD RESURFACES AT KOBALT

Alison Donald—former Co-Chief of Columbia Records in Blighty who left Sony last year—has joined Kobalt as Head of Creative U.K. In her new role, Donald will reunite with Sas Metcalfe who hired her at Warner Chappell Music back in the ‘90s.

Donald will be working with artists and managers across AWAL, Kobalt Music Recordings and Kobalt Publishing, while driving business growth across all divisions.

“Alison’s great experience in cultivating and breaking artists elevates Kobalt’s already accomplished global creative team, even further,” Kobalt CEO Willard Ahdritz said. “She also is a great, fun and honest person to work with.” Donald spent five years at Columbia alongside fellow Co-President Mark Terry. While there, the duo worked with George Ezra, Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, The Script, Tom Odell, Rag’n’Bone Man and The Vaccines. Ferdy Unger-Hamilton replaced them in November.

Prior to Columbia, Donald spent 10 years as Managing Director at Chrysalis Music Publishing. She signed and oversaw a variety of projects including Damon Albarn, Danger Mouse, The Gossip, Fleet Foxes, Laura Marling, Thom Yorke and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Donald was Head of A&R at Warner Chappell Music from 1996 to 2000.

“Kobalt is obsessed with helping creators thrive in this complex music industry, and that aligns with my beliefs and approach,” Donald noted. “It’s also fantastic that I’ll be reuniting with Sas Metcalfe who gave me my first job in publishing and has continued to encourage and inspire me throughout my career.”

Metcalfe, who is now Kobalt’s Chief Creative Officer, concluded: “Alison’s knowledge, expertise, and fantastic reputation coupled with her ability to identify and sign successful long-term career artists, makes her the perfect fit to lead the creative team for recordings and publishing in the U.K."