Key Points

  • Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York, said in a statement released Monday that Armin Zerza will serve as the company's new Chief Financial Officer. Zerza previously served as CFO of Activision Blizzard and played a "key role" in the company's acquisition by Microsoft in 2023.
  • Zerza will succeed current EVP and CFO Brian Castellani, who is stepping down after less than two years in the role. Both changes take effect on May 5. Castellani succeeded CFO Eric Levin, who retired after a long tenure; before joining Warner Music, Levin worked at Disney for more than two decades, including serving as CFO of Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
  • Under the terms of Zerza's four-year employment agreement (through May 12, 2029), his compensation will include a base salary of $1.2 million, a target annual bonus of $1.8 million, and an annual restricted stock unit grant with a pre-tax target value of $6 million. In addition, he will receive a one-time signing bonus of $1 million and an award of Class A stock options with a grant-date value of $4 million.

Deep Dive

The leadership change comes as the entertainment and record label company has been seeking to cut costs and saw revenue decline 5% to $1.6 billion in its first fiscal quarter ending December 31. Castellani at the time attributed the pressure to "temporary macroeconomic conditions." According to The Wall Street Journal, the company said in September it would cut about 750 employees in a restructuring plan focused on boosting its recorded music business.

Zerza, 55, has about three decades of experience in the entertainment, technology, and consumer products sectors. Since 2015, he served as CFO and COO of Blizzard Entertainment, then as CFO of Activision Blizzard. Earlier, he spent more than a decade at consumer products company Procter & Gamble, where he held roles including CFO of European baby care and CFO of Latin America, according to his LinkedIn profile.

"Armin brings 30 years of global experience and a strong track record of operational excellence, commercial innovation, and financial discipline. He will help us evolve our long-term strategy to build a better WMG for the benefit of our artists, songwriters, investors, employees, and partners," Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl said in a statement in Monday's announcement.