Evolving How We Lead

Key ideas

Ek tells employees he is moving to Executive Chairman, framing the change as his next mission and spelling out what he keeps and what passes to co-CEOs.

1. 1

   Think of roles as missions

   Ek writes that he has had about nine missions at Spotify under one title, from assembling furniture and negotiating the first deals to running finance, product, sales and marketing. He presents becoming Executive Chairman as one more mission rather than a departure.

2. 2

   Ek says his successors have shown readiness

   Raising the question of why now, Ek answers that Gustav and Alex have demonstrated they can lead and that the wider team has stepped up. He credits them directly and says that this is what lets him step back from day-to-day work.

3. 3

   What Ek keeps as Executive Chairman

   Ek lists his focus as strategy, capital allocation, regulatory efforts and the largest long-term decisions, with the co-CEOs continuing to report to him. He explains that this follows a European chairman model and says he will be more hands-on than some US peers with the same title.

4. 4

   What stays the same for the team

   Ek writes that very little will change for most employees, since the leadership team and the plan remain in place, and states plainly that he is not leaving. He separates this from his personal plan to put some of his energy into helping build more large technology companies from Europe, and says more on that will come later.

In Daniel’s words

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