Daniel Ek is stepping down as Spotify CEO

Daniel Ek is stepping down as CEO of Spotify, and will step into an Executive Chairman role from 1 January 2026.

Spotify co-presidents Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström are to step in as co-CEOs, it has been announced.

“Spotify has a strong leadership team in place and a solid plan we are executing against. That’s not changing.” Ek writes in a statement on Spotify’s Newsroom.

“What changes is my time and focus. As Executive Chairman, I will spend more of my time on the long arc: strategy, capital allocation, regulatory efforts and the calls that will shape the next decade for Spotify.”

Ek notes that Norström and Söderström will continue to report to him, and the three will “work closely together” with Spotify’s Board of Directors.

He goes on: “Why now? Because Alex and Gustav have clearly demonstrated that, with the support of this remarkable team, they are ready to lead Spotify as co-CEOs. And because you all have stepped up, I can confidently step back from the day-to-day.

“Together, we’ve shown the world that Spotify is not only a great product but also a great business – delivering our first full year of profitability in company history. We couldn’t be better positioned. And to be clear, I’m not leaving. I’ll remain deeply involved in the big, defining decisions about our future, partnering with Gustav and Alex as they lead the way forward.”

Ek notes that part of his new focus will be on building “more Spotifys” and “more of these super-companies”. He describes his intention to create “companies that are developing new technologies to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time.”

Daniel Ek drew criticism earlier this year when it was revealed that his investment company Prima Materia led a €600 million investment in AI military weapons company Helsing, of which Ek is also Chairman.

The move sparked several high-profile artists to remove their music from Spotify, including King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Deerhoof, and Xiu Xiu.

After English trip-hop collective Massive Attack also announced their intention to remove their music from the platform, Helsing issued a statement responding to the “misinformation” surrounding its activities.

“Currently we see misinformation spreading that Helsing’s technology is deployed in war zones other than Ukraine,” the company wrote on its website. “This is not correct. Our technology is deployed to European countries for deterrence and for defence against the Russian aggression in Ukraine only.”

Read more about Spotify’s leadership changes via its Newsroom.