Kobalt Names Laurent Hubert President, Richard Sanders to Leave in June

Roy Trakin

Laurent Hubert will replace Richard Sanders as President/Chief Revenue Officer for Kobalt Music Group, effective immediately, the company confirmed to Variety. Hubert came aboard last year to run the company’s newly formed B2B right management platform and investment division. He was previously President, Marketing & Creative, at BMG, and before that Chief Operating Officer at BMG Music Publishing.

Sanders, who first joined the company in 2012 after stints at Sony Music Entertainment, RCA, V2 and Arista, will leave at the end of June, according to founder/CEO Willard Ahdritz, who issued the following statement:

“Five years ago, I brought Richard Sanders to Kobalt to help us roll out an aggressive global expansion plan. Together, we have achieved all of that and more. He has played an instrumental role in getting us to where we are today. As we considered our future plans together, Richard felt that he had accomplished what we had set out to do together and it was now time for him to move on. He will remain with Kobalt until the end of June working alongside me and will always be part of the Kobalt family. As both a friend and a colleague, I cannot thank Richard enough for his enormous contribution to Kobalt over the years.”

Ahdritz also announced the following promotions: Sas Metcalfe, who was the first Kobalt employee in 2001, is now Chief Creative Officer, after previous roles as EVP Creative and Creative Director. She was head of A&R at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing UK and began her career at CBS Records as a Marketing Assistant before setting up the indie label Rockin’ Horse Records.

Lonny Olinick, who joined the company in 2016 after holding positions at RCA, Sony BMG and Bain & Company, is now Chief Strategy Officer.

Jeannette Perez, who joined Kobalt in 2014, has been promoted to President, Global Synch and Brand Partnerships after similar posts at Sony Music and RCA Records, along with a job in Business & Legal Affairs at Sony BMG.

Marissa Mencher, who has been with Kobalt Music Group since 2012 in human resources after a 20-year career spanning posts at Sony Music, BMG Label Group, RCA Music Group and J Records, has been named Chief People Officer.

Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter