A global multinational company Sony Music Entertainment has announced a new head of its Australian operations, nearly a year after its 25-year-old Australian CEO Dennis Handlin suddenly stepped down under a cloud of accusations of toxic culture in the workplace under his leadership.
On Wednesday, Sony’s New York headquarters announced that Australian Vanessa Picken of Los Angeles will take over as chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand.
In a statement, Sony chairman Rob Stringer said Picken would return to Australia and take up his new post in September, overseeing all operations, signing performers, marketing and business partnerships for the company.
Picken is the Managing Director of the independent global music company PIAS in California, playing a key role in the discovery and development of a number of performers, including the artist who has been awarded the BRIT Triple Award. Arlo Park.
In a statement, Picken said she was looking forward to the campaign “introducing the next chapter that transforms.”
Sony Music Australia was without a leader for almost 12 months after Handlin’s sudden departure on June 21, 2021, the same day Guardian Australia published an extensive investigation in accusations of former employees of sexual harassment in the workplace, intimidation, alcohol abuse and gender discrimination spanning more than two decades under Handlin’s leadership.
None of the former Sony employees interviewed by the Guardian Australia accused Handlin himself of sexual harassment, although they were critical of the company’s workplace culture when Handlin was chief executive officer.
New York office, who knew about the problems with Handlin’s management style since the late 1990s, promised to conduct a full investigation, and issued a statement at the time stating that the company would not tolerate harassment, bullying and other inappropriate behavior.
The results of the investigation have not been published.
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jun/15/sony-music-announces-vanessa-picken-as-new-ceo-to-replace-denis-handlin-in-australia
