Christopher Ludwig Email & Phone Number

Chris is a seasoned music business executive with over 15 years experience driving digital transformation. Renowned for building highly effective teams, he is particularly known for the development of the best YouTube team in the industry. A dynamic leader and strategist, he excels in negotiating strategic partnerships and licenses with key DSPs and guiding organizations through profound change. His strengths lie in entrepreneurial thinking, digital expertise spanning recorded & publishing, and astute market insight. His profound understanding of disruption and digital optimization, coupled with technical proficiency, affords him a holistic view of digital advancements and their implications for corporate strategy. A thorough KornFerry assessment underscores: “Chris demonstrates a very broad range of leadership styles. Importantly, those styles that are deemed to be effective over the long term tower high.”His journey at BMG began in 2010. He pioneered the Digital Strategy function, nurturing it from inception to a team of over 100 today. Based in London and Berlin, he currently holds the position of SVP Digital since 2022 and is a member of the Group Strategy Council. In this capacity, he leads Digital BizDev, Streaming, Digital Marketing and Insights and wields significant influence, optimizing half of the company's P&L and driving a 400m EUR business. Throughout his tenure he has steered the consolidation of digital expertise into a centralized function. He spearheaded the direct-to-market strategy, which he devised in 2010, contributing to remarkable growth in the company's revenue. At Bertelsmann he is a member of the Top Management Pool, an elite program for top-level roles across divisions. Previously nominated for multiple Bertelsmann programs, he authored a Master's Thesis on "The Systematization of Cross-Divisional Synergies in Media Corporations”, aiding synergy initiatives. His diverse experience encompasses strategic roles in the Corporate Strategy Department and G+J.He embarked on his leadership journey at the age of 18, founding one of Germany's most renowned choirs, elevating it to international acclaim. Concurrently, he worked as a Sound Engineer at MTV. Passionate about the digital music business his academic journey included an impactful year in Sweden and Norway during Spotify's rise in its home market, leading to a Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Popular Music & Music Business. Complementing his academic achievements, he augmented his expertise with certifications from INSEAD and Harvard Business School.