THOMPSON NAMED TO THE STARTING TEAM AT IDJ

Better late than never (he’s been in the house for some time now), the Island Def Jam Music Group has announced the appointment of Greg Thompson as Executive Vice President Marketing. The announcement was made Island Records President by Steve Bartels, to whom Thompson will report. In this new position, Thompson will oversee the activities of IDJ's marketing, sales, and publicity departments, working out of IDJ’s New York headquarters.

Said Bartels, "L.A. Reid, Shawn Carter and I look forward to Greg's energy and experience pushing our artist intensive marketing campaigns to new levels of success."

Added Thompson, "I am thrilled to be joining the team of all-stars that has been assembled by L.A. Reid and Steve Bartels. I have admired the Island Def Jam artist roster for years, and I congratulate the senior management on the strides that IDJ has taken over the last year. I look forward to being able to play a significant role in bringing the company to its next level of success, just as Tom Izzo has brought my beloved Spartans back to the very pinnacle of college hoops."

Thompson most recently was Exec VP/GM of the Elektra Entertainment Group, working under Sylvia Rhone, who also made the move to UMG. He held that position for five years after spending the five previous years as the label’s SVP Promotion. He entered the record biz in 1985 at Chrysalis Records, eventually rising to the post of VP Top 40 Promotion. In 1991, he was named SVP Promotion at SBK Records before moving to EMI as VP Promotion. Thompson graduated from Michigan State in 1984, and he won’t let you forget it.