Dive Brief:
- New York-based Warner Music Group said Armin Zerza, who most recently served as CFO of Activision Blizzard, where he played a “pivotal role” in the video game company’s 2023 acquisition by Microsoft, will be the music company’s new CFO, according to a Monday company release.
- Zerza will succeed EVP and CFO Bryan Castellani, who will be stepping down after less than two years in the finance chief seat, with both changes effective May 5. Castellani, who replaced long-time and retiring CFO Eric Levin, joined Warner after serving more than two decades at The Walt Disney Company, including as CFO for Disney Entertainment & ESPN.
- Based on the terms of Zerza’s employment agreement for four years ending May 12, 2029, Zerza’s compensation will include a $1.2 million base salary, a target annual bonus of $1.8 million, and an annual grant of restricted stock units with a pre-tax target value of $6 million, according to a securities filing. He will also receive a one-time signing bonus payment of $1 million and a one-time award of options to purchase Class A stock at a grant date value of $4 million.
Dive Insight:
The leadership change comes as the entertainment and record-label has been seeking to cut costs and saw revenue decline 5% to $1.6 billion in the first fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, with Castellani citing pressures from “temporary macro conditions” in the period. In September, the company said it would reduce its workforce by about 750 employees amid a restructuring plan focused on boosting its recorded-music business, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Zerza, 55, joins Warner Music with about three decades of experience in the entertainment, technology and consumer goods sectors. Starting in 2015, he was CFO and then COO of Blizzard Entertainment and later CFO of Activision Blizzard. Earlier, he worked for over a decade at the consumer products company Procter & Gamble, where he held such roles as CFO, Europe Baby Care and CFO, Latin America, according to his LinkedIn account.
“Armin arrives with 30 years of global experience and a track record of delivering outstanding results through operational excellence, commercial innovation, and financial discipline. He’ll help us evolve our long-term strategy and build WMG for the lasting benefit of our artists, songwriters, investors, employees, and partners,” Warner CEO Robert Kyncl said in a statement included in Monday’s release.
