JIM URIE TO STEP DOWN FROM
TOP UMGD POST

UMGD President/CEO Jim Urie told his staff this morning that he’ll be stepping down from his post at the end of the year.

A bit of background on this capable, extremely well-liked veteran, who is held in great esteem by many, including his boss for the last three and a half years.

Urie was named UMGD President in May 1998 and guided the distribbery through the transition from physical to digital product. He initiated the pricing strategy JumpSTART, which led to double digit-sales growth following its initiation in 2003.

Urie first joined the company in August 1996 EVP/GM. When he started at Universal, the company's marketshare was approximately 11% and has grown to its current 38% through internal growth and acquisitions including his signing of the Disney Music Group, the Concord Music Group and the Big Machine label. Universal has been the U.S. marketshare leader for 15 years running.

In 2010 NARM awarded Urie the Presidential Award for Sustained Executive Achievement, while UMGD was twice named one of five finalists for Best U.S. Sales Organization by the Forbes/American Business Awards. In 2005, the same org named him Best Sales Executive.
　
Urie began his career in 1972 as a college rep for CBS Records in Washington, D.C., becoming New York City Branch Manager in 1980.　 In 1987, Dick Asher hired him as SVP Sales and Distribution for PolyGram, and two years later he was upped to SVP Marketing, overseeing artist development, creative services, publicity, video production, and product management for Mercury, Polydor and London.　This move made him one of the few executives in the music industry to have held senior positions in both the creative and sales side of the business. In 1993, Urie became SVP Sales for Arista, where he remained until moving to UMGD.