Now Reading: Spotify Founder Daniel Ek to Step Down as CEO
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Spotify Founder Daniel Ek to Step Down as CEO
Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek will step aside as chief executive officer on January 1, 2026, after nearly two decades at the helm of the world’s largest music streaming platform. The company announced on Tuesday that Ek will transition into the role of executive chairman, while two long-serving deputies will jointly take over leadership in what it described as a natural evolution of its management structure.
In the new arrangement, Gustav Soderstrom, Spotify’s chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norstrom, the company’s chief business officer, will assume the titles of co-chief executives. Both men have been integral to Spotify’s global expansion and product innovation in recent years. Ek said the shift formalises a reality that has already been in practice behind the scenes.
“This change simply matches titles to how we already operate,” Ek explained 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.”
The announcement signals a significant generational shift within Spotify’s leadership, though Ek emphasised that he will remain deeply engaged with the company’s long-term strategy and vision.
Ek’s Legacy and Spotify’s Global Growth
Since co-founding Spotify with Martin Lorentzon in 2006, Daniel Ek has been at the forefront of reshaping the music industry. By introducing a legal, user-friendly alternative to piracy-dominated platforms of the mid-2000s, Spotify changed how millions of people consume music. Under his leadership, the company expanded from a small Stockholm startup to a global streaming powerhouse available in more than 180 markets.
Spotify went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 through a direct listing — a bold and unconventional approach that reflected Ek’s pragmatic leadership style. Today, the firm boasts a market capitalisation of around $149 billion and has grown its user base to more than 700 million, according to figures released this year.
Ek’s personal style has been described as understated, often appearing in sneakers and T-shirts rather than corporate suits. Yet, behind the casual image lies a leader credited with maintaining a laser focus on innovation, product development, and expansion into podcasts and audiobooks, which have helped diversify Spotify’s offerings beyond music.
Despite this success, the company has faced criticism over royalty payments to artists, profitability challenges, and competition from rivals like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music. The leadership reshuffle comes at a delicate moment, with Spotify shares dropping more than three percent in pre-market trading after the announcement.
What the Transition Means for Spotify
As executive chairman, Ek said his focus will shift to the “long arc of the company,” including innovation, strategy, and ensuring alignment between the board and the new co-CEOs. “I will keep the board and our co-CEOs deeply connected through my engagement,” he assured stakeholders.
Industry analysts believe the appointment of co-CEOs reflects Spotify’s need for strong leadership across multiple fronts — product development, technological innovation, and commercial expansion. Gustav Soderstrom, with his expertise in product and engineering, and Alex Norstrom, who has overseen global partnerships and monetisation strategies, are expected to complement each other in guiding the company forward.
Still, questions remain about how the dual leadership structure will work in practice, given potential challenges of balancing decision-making authority. Spotify is not the first major tech company to experiment with such a model, though success often depends on how well the leaders collaborate and present a unified vision.
For Ek, the transition represents a new chapter but not a farewell. His continued presence as executive chairman ensures that the company’s founding ethos and long-term ambitions remain intact, even as new leadership takes over the operational reins.
As Spotify approaches its 20th anniversary, the reshuffle underscores its ambition to remain at the forefront of digital audio. Whether this change will reassure investors and accelerate growth remains to be seen, but for now, the company insists the move reflects stability rather than disruption.
