Epidemic Sound Strengthens Management Team - Appoints Omio Executive Julian Persaud as Chief Commercial Officer and Google Executive Rikard Herlitz as Chief Technology Officer
- The two new Epidemic Sound members mark a new phase and alignment to fulfill the company’s mission of soundtracking the world
- With Julian and Rikard joining the band, Epidemic Sound continues to attract world-class talent, further strengthening the team as it continues to expand globally
- The addition of the two executive talents will help to elevate and further professionalize the commercial and technological direction at Epidemic Sound
Stockholm, Sweden – Epidemic Sound announced today that Rikard Herlitz is to be appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Julian Persaud as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), both starting January 2023.
Julian Persaud has spent his career working in hyper-growth tech businesses across the world. He joins from Omio, a leading European travel platform, where he was Chief Commercial Officer. Previously he was the Global Head of Operations for Airbnb Experiences, responsible for developing and managing operations for Airbnb's newest business unit. Before taking on this role, Julian was the Regional Managing Director for Airbnb in Asia-Pacific, where he led strategy and supply operations based out of Singapore.
Julian joined Airbnb from Google, where he was Managing Director, South East Asia, expanding Google’s business across the region. With 10 years of experience at Google across various business development, sales and operational roles, he brings a unique international perspective with outstanding experience in scaling companies globally. As CCO, Julian will lead the commercial strategy and strengthen the commercial proposition of Epidemic Sound even further.
Rikard Herlitz joins Epidemic Sound from Google where he has held the position of Engineering Director for Google Meet since the beginning of 2019. Prior to that, Rikard held the role of Chief Technology Officer at Mojang Studios working specifically with the development of Minecraft.
Before Mojang, he founded and worked as the CTO in two different companies, Goo Technologies and Ardor Labs AB, building products used by companies like Amazon and NASA. Rikard will provide tech leadership and strategic direction across all of Epidemic Sound’s markets. He will contribute to Epidemic Sound’s overarching mission to soundtrack the world, and continuously align the tech vision and strategy accordingly.
Oscar Höglund, Epidemic Sound co-founder and CEO, comments: “We’re thrilled to welcome both Rikard and Julian to our leadership team. Their in-depth knowledge and global experiences from both the commercial, and the technological side will be essential as we move into our next stage of development. I am confident we have found the right talents to help us take Epidemic Sound into the next phase on our journey to soundtrack the world.”
Rikard Herlitz, Epidemic Sound’s new CTO, comments: “With their disruptive business model and stellar team, the potential to amplify Epidemic Sound's strengths through increased technological investments is staggering. I'm incredibly happy to have the opportunity to help foster this development, and contribute to the fantastic journey Epidemic Sound is on.”
Julian Persaud, Epidemic Sound’s new CCO, comments: “I’m truly delighted to be joining Epidemic at such an exciting stage of their growth and development journey. The combination of such a big mission, impressive momentum, and stellar talent made this an obvious next move for me. I look forward to contributing to their future successes.”
