Dive Brief:

• Spotify Technology said Thursday that it appointed European defense industry executive Christian Luiga to serve as its new finance chief.

• Luiga, who currently serves as CFO and deputy CEO at Saab, a Swedish technology company involved in defense, aviation, and aerospace, will join Spotify in the third quarter, according to a press release from the music streaming giant which is also based in Sweden.

• Ben Kung, Spotify’s vice president of financial planning and analysis, will serve as interim CFO in the meantime, the release said.

Dive Insight:

Spotify announced in December that its former CFO, Paul Vogel, was planning to leave the company at the end of March. Kung was tapped at the time to take on “expanded responsibilities” pending a search for a permanent replacement.

The finance leadership transition comes as Spotify looks to become more profitable, including by raising prices and cutting staff. In December, the company announced that it was laying off about 17% of its workforce.

On Wednesday, the company’s stock jumped 8% following news that it planned to hike prices for its premium subscription service in several markets, including the U.S., for the second time in a year, CNBC reported.

Spotify’s total revenue grew 16% to €3.7 billion during the fourth quarter of 2023, with an operating loss of €75 million, according to results released in February. 

Despite being a dominant audio-streaming business, with more than 600 million users, Spotify has lost money annually since it went public in 2018, according to Bloomberg. The company’s financial challenges largely stem from the fact that it pays out about 70% of its sales in royalties to the music industry, the publication said.

When Vogel’s exit was announced last December, CEO Daniel Ek said the company was entering a “new phase and needs a CFO with a different mix of experiences.”

“Spotify has embarked on an evolution over the last two years to bring our spending more in line with market expectations while also funding the significant growth opportunities we continue to identify,” he said in a press release at the time. “I’ve talked a lot with Paul about the need to balance these two objectives carefully.”

Luiga has served as the CFO of Saab since 2020, according to a Thursday Securities and Exchange Commission filing from Spotify. He previously served in various roles at telecommunications company Telia, including as CFO as well as acting CEO and president.