Thomas Hesse is a media and digital media executive and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Dreamstage Inc. and Consonance Investments LLC. He was previously the President of Global Digital Business & US Sales/ Distribution for

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

and president of Corporate Development and New Businesses as well as Member of the Executive Board of

Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...

Education

Hesse holds a BA and MA from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, an MSc from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

and a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in Corporate Finance from the

University of St. Gallen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He studied as a concert pianist at the ''

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

'' in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

and the ''

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

'' in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Career

Hesse began his career in the media and entertainment industry as a corporate consultant at

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

, In 2002, he was appointed as the EVP and chief strategic officer of BMG in New York. Prior to joining BMG, he held a number of executive positions at the company's television division RTL, including the secretary-general of RTL Television and CEO of RTL New Media. He briefly held a position as restructuring CEO of Paddle8 Auctionata, a startup formed from the merger of New York-based Paddle8 and Berlin-based Auctionata. In his position as president and chief digital officer at Bertelsmann, Hesse oversaw the company's worldwide corporate and digital development, as well as its music rights division

BMG Rights Management BMG Rights Management GmbH (also known simply as BMG) is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label. BMG was founded in October 2008 after Bertelsmann sold its ...

and its venture capital arms, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and Bertelsmann Asia Investments. He was also responsible for the M&A team and the company's engagement in education venture fund University Ventures. Hesse has been the president of Sony Music and he was the in-charge of Global Digital Business and US Sales & Distribution. He also led Sony Music's digital direct-to-consumer efforts and was as co-founder of VEVO, the digital music channel, together with Universal Music and Abu Dhabi Media Company.

Copy protection rootkit scandal

In 2005, asked about the Sony BMG Copy protection rootkit, Hesse's declaration to

Neda Ulaby Neda Ulaby ( ar, ندى علبي, born 1970) is an American reporter for National Public Radio, covering arts, cultural trends and digital media. She lives in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Born during Black September in Amman, Jo ...

: "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" became famous and added prominence to the case to reporters and the general public.

References

External links

THOMAS HESSE NAMED PRESIDENT, GLOBAL DIGITAL BUSINESS, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

Bertelsmann AG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse, Thomas Sony people Living people Mozarteum University Salzburg alumni University of St. Gallen alumni Year of birth missing (living people)