Warner Music Middle East appoints Ahmed Nureni as general manager
Following five years in charge at WM Middle East, Moe Hamzeh has stepped down
The new general manager of Warner Music Middle East has been announced as Ahmed Nureni.
According to a press release from Warner Music Group, Moe Hamzeh, who was instrumental in launching Warner Music Middle East in 2018, has left his position as managing director after five years to focus on other projects.
Nureni, who has more than 14 years of experience in the music business, will continue to be located in Dubai and report to Alfonso Perez-Soto, the president of Warner Recorded Music's Emerging Markets department.
Ahmed Nureni will at the same time continue to serve as general manager of Qanawat Music, a music distributor in the MENA region that WMG purchased early this year. He will continue to collaborate closely with Adnan Al-Obthani, the company's founder, in his new role.
“I’m excited to be heading Warner Music Middle East, alongside my responsibilities at Qanawat.The dual role will allow me to harness synergies from both businesses and be thoughtful and strategic in the way we grow Warner Music Middle East’s artist roster.There’s so much creative potential in our region and we’re only just beginning to tap into it.I’m looking forward to working closely with our team in Beirut and promise them the next few years are going to be hugely exciting,” Nureni comments in the press release.
Alfonso Perez-Soto adds: “Ahmed is a brilliant exec who combines an amazing ear for music with a brilliant strategic mind. We’ve been working together since Qanawat joined the Warner Music family and I knew he’d be the perfect person for this role. With the support of our amazing team in Beirut, he’ll champion artists from the region and help them connect with a global audience. I’d also like to thank Moe Hamzeh for all his amazing support over the last five years and wish him good luck in his next adventures.”
Simon Robson, President, International, Warner Recorded Music, concludes: “The Middle East and North Africa is the fastest-growing region in the world for the recorded music industry, with some great talent coming through. It is a priority market for us, highlighted by our accelerated activity in MENA in the last 18 months, but we have further ambitious growth plans, which Ahmed will help us deliver.”
Warner Music’s Middle East division covers Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE and Yemen. The company has also noted that the change in the leadership “doesn't impact the other Warner Music Middle East employees in Beirut who will stay based in the city.”
