BRAVADO ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP ROLES

Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandise and brand-management company, has appointed Alyssa Tobias, Bill Ashton, Keith Taperell and Kim Youngberg to new leadership roles.

Tobias has been named VP, head of creative services, Ashton is now head of A&R, Taperall is VP, Global Brand Partnerships and Energy Marketing and Youngberg has become head of legal. (Pictured clockwise from left are Youngberg, Tobias, Ashton and Taperell.)

Prior to her tenure with Bravado, Tobias was SVP, creative at Live Nation Merchandise, where she oversaw creative development and design for its artists and brands. She began her career as a designer at Island Records/Def Jam before joining The Araca Group as SVP, creative. Tobias is based in L.A. and reports to Bravado GM Jesper Poulsen.

Ashton, meanwhile, comes from Songkick, where he was managing director. He began his career as the manager of New York's Blue Note Jazz Club and later held roles at Scorebig Inc., Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster. More recently, he was SVP of WEA's Artist Service International division. He began his WEA tenure as GM. He'll remain in New York and report to Bravado President Matt Young.

In Taperell's new role as VP, Global Brand Partnerships and Energy Marketing, he'll curate cultural moments and evaluate opportunities for Bravado artists. He joined the team in 2020 as U.K. VP of sales & retail, in which capacity he found success with such local experiential retail projects as Elton John's takeover of the Corner Shop at Selfridges London and the Queen pop-up store on Carnaby Street. Taperell previously held senior management positions at Converse, Levi’s, Carhartt and Timberland. He's currently based in the U.K. and reports to Bravado SVP, Global Licensing Lisa Streff.

Youngberg, the new head of legal (her remit includes business development) comes from The Davis Firm, where she was a partner. Prior to that, she served as general counsel for Screenvision Media. She was also SVP of business and legal affairs for Wind-Up Records. Youngberg began her legal career at Davis Shapiro & Lewit, where she served as outside counsel for the Republic, Def Jam and Rawkus labels. She's based in New York and reports to Young.

"As Bravado’s roster continues to expand," Young said, "our company has evolved to ensure that we are giving our artists best-in-class support and services, and we are excited to announced that Alyssa, Bill, Keith and Kim have joined our senior leadership team.”

We've been told they're also excited about the chance to send our emails to trash.