Spotify Australia & New Zealand Managing Director Kate Vale Announces Departure

Kate Vale, the LA-based managing director of Spotify Australia & New Zealand, is departing the company after almost six years in the role.

As Mumbrella reports, Vale joined Spotify in 2011 and held the position of ANZ managing director for five years and seven months, even through her relocation to the United States last year. She said in a statement that leaving the company is "the hardest decision I've ever had to make".

"I am so proud of everything we have achieved in our five years in the market, which has not only been best-in-class for the Spotify business but has also driven real results and growth for the local music industry," she said.

Vale's last day with Spotify will be tomorrow, 19 May, and the search for her replacement will begin "immediately", according to AdNews.

The veteran leader and one-time head of YouTube for Australia and New Zealand ranked #36 in last year's AMID Power 50 countdown of the 50 most powerful people in the Australian music industry.

As we wrote at the time, this was due to her ability to "put a solid team in place to act on Spotify's behalf", helping them to gain "the strongest foothold of any in this market" and stave off competition from now-defunct rival Rdio.