ROBACK OUT OF INGROOVES

After seven years as CEO of Ingrooves, Bob Roback is leaving the company. In a memo obtained by HITS, he revealed to his team that "the same entrepreneurial spirit that brought [him] to Ingrooves is now drawing [him] to a new path."

He shared via email that Ingrooves CFO Jeff Cuatto will lead an interim leadership team while he transitions out of his role "over the next few months"—and that UMG is currently conducting an executive search for his replacement. He also thanked Sir Lucian Grainge and Boyd Muir for supporting Ingrooves' "global mission to work with the best independent labels and artists in the world and to pursue unprecedented innovation in harnessing data and AI to pioneer new marketing methods." He did not, however, provide more specific details about his next move.

"We made early, substantial investments in data science and built a world-class team of experts in all departments across the organization," he wrote. "Our acquisition by UMG in 2019 enabled us to ramp up our pace of global expansion and accelerate our creation of pioneering marketing methods to help our labels and artists become even more successful. Our stellar financial results, client base and platform-engagement metrics validate our strategy, and I am extremely proud of our work together. That is why there is no easy way to say that the time has come for me to pass the Ingrooves CEO torch and pursue new challenges."