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David Joseph Stepping Down as Universal Music UK Chairman/CEO

David Joseph announced he is stepping down as Universal Music U.K. chairman and CEO after almost 17 years at the helm.

His departure was announced in a memo to staff on Monday (Sept. 23) in which Joseph said he was leaving the music business to study for a master’s degree in religion and theology at King’s College London, commencing next week. The outgoing exec — who oversaw the EMI, Decca, Island, Polydor and 0207 Def Jam labels, as well as Abbey Road Studios — praised his former colleagues at Universal Music U.K. who “will undoubtedly continue to inspire, innovate, and lead the way.” In a separate staff memo, also seen by Billboard, Grainge described his two decades-plus working with Joseph, beginning with the turnaround of Polydor in the late 1990s, as a “remarkable journey.”

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