Independent label, distributor and publisher EMPIRE has announced a new slate of hires in multiple departments, along with additions to the team’s senior leadership.
The new senior talent includes Mario Davis who will serve as Vice President of Global Partnerships, Marissa Philpot as Vice President of HR Operations, and Jasmine Kirkwood as Director of Sync & Licensing.
Davis previously held senior executive roles at UnitedMasters, Spirit Music, Position Music, Music Dealers, and led the launch of partnerships, campaigns and music integration with 2K Games, Activision, Coca-Cola, Rolls-Royce, Lexus, NBA, ESPN, and others.
Marissa Philpot joins after five years at WME, where she worked under the direction of Global Director of Music Operations Benjamin Scales and trained over 400 newly hired employees. Kirkwood was previously head of sync at Kobalt Music Group in Australia & New Zealand, where she opened and established the Australian office alongside the managing director and established and developed the sync department.
“I’m very honored to be joining this amazingly talented EMPIRE team,” said Mario Davis, VP of Global Partnerships. “I’m excited to build upon the company’s long history of success as the premier launchpad for the very best independent artists in the world, and I’m eager to play a pivotal role in shaping the next phase of the company’s evolution and to stewarding EMPIRE’s expansion efforts in the arena of strategic brand partnerships.”
“I am beyond excited and blessed to be a part of EMPIRE” said Marissa Phlipot, VP of HR Operations. “I look forward to building out and developing EMPIRE’s rapidly expanding global team while working closely with the incredible staff that Ghazi and Nima have assembled over the past decade.”
“The global EMPIRE roster possesses a wealth of sync opportunities across both our label and publishing divisions,” said Jasmine Kirkwood, Director of Sync and Licensing. “I’m thrilled to join the team to further develop the synchronization department and contribute to the continued success of EMPIRE’s artist roster.”
“Mario, Marissa and Jasmine are great additions to our senior leadership as we continue to expand our global reach,” said Ghazi Shami, EMPIRE CEO and Founder. “With their capabilities and our additional new hires to the core team, we are competing at the highest level in the industry.”