WEA GOES FOR ESPO

Esposito will report directly to Caparro and oversee sales, marketing and branch distribution activities. He most recently served under Caparro as GM/Executive VP at Island Def Jam Music Group. Esposito also served from ’93-96 at the former PGD Distribution, also under Caparro, rising to Sr. VP Poly Merchandise before the ’96 merger with Universal. The guy must have some incriminating JPEGs of Jim in his possession.

"Not only is John known for his solid team-building and people skills, but he’s established a strong reputation as a leader and an innovator in the marketing and selling of music," Caparro said. "I’m confident that his tireless energy and his unique combination of record label and marketing and distribution experience have made him ideally suited to address the unique challenges and the array of opportunities we face in the music business today."

Esposito said, "No company is better positioned to transform the way music is delivered to the consumer than WEA. I’m honored to be on Jim’s team, and thrilled by the opportunity to uphold the rich WEA tradition while looking to drive us into the future. I take the torch with a lot of pride and a deep sense of responsibility."

Before joining PolyGram, Esposito was the COO of music and movies at The Wiz. From 1986-’93, he was Regional VP NE of Mitsubishi Electronics America, managing the sales and operations staff.

Esposito holds a BA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he still holds the school record for most goldfish consumed in one frat hazing.

Last month, Caparro named Tom Costabile President of WEA Manufacturing, so he’s keeping to his schedule of naming one new guy a month.

Although word has it that Esposito will at least start his tenure in the Burbank offices, this only fuels speculation that Caparro plans to move the entire operation to the East Coast.