Atlantic Records U.K. has hired Rich Castillo as A&R Director. He joins the label from Sony/ATV where he was Senior Director of A&R, and takes on the new role later this month.

While at Sony/ATV, Castillo helped revamp the A&R department and signed the likes of Neave Applebaum, Pa Salieu, TMS and Wayne Hector.

He's the second senior appointment made by Atlantic U.K. co-Presidents Ed Howard and Briony Turner, to whom he reports into, since they took the helm of the label at the end of last year. Castillo joins Liz Goodwin, who was announced as the label’s General Manager last month.

“Rich has great ears and a brilliant track record for finding and creating massive pop hits,” Turner said. “His experience and energy will make him a welcome addition to the A&R team.”

Howard added: “Rich is the latest in a series of senior hires that we’re making, and combined with our already outstanding team, this puts us in a great position to continue to discover future stars and deliver world-class service to our artists.”

Castillo started his career at the management company Shalit Global, where he helped launch and develop N-Dubz. In 2012, he joined UMTV and All Around the World in an A&R role, signing N-Dubz stars Dappy and Tulisa to solo deals.

In 2014, Castillo moved to Universal Music Canada, where he served as an A&R Director for two years. He then returned to the U.K. to join Polydor Records as Senior A&R Manager. While there, he signed Stefflon Don, Big Heath, Blanco, and Mic Lowry, and A&R’d the latest album from Wretch 32.