Faisal Galaria has been named global head of business development for music-download site Spotify, three months after he unexpectedly quit as European managing director of Kayak.com.
Galaria spots new opportunity
Faisal Galaria has been named global head of business development for music-download site Spotify, three months after he unexpectedly quit as European managing director of Kayak.com.
Spotify is a legal service which allows users to download music for free if they accept adverts between tracks. Users can pay a monthly fee for an ad-free version.
Galaria’s appointment was announced this week. He had been European head of Kayak for only eight months before his sudden departure in May. It is understood he left after a disagreement over Kayak.com’s strategy outside the US. Galaria said: “I am passionate about building disruptive companies Spotify is changing the way we enjoy music and the old paradigms of music ownership.”
Kayak’s European operations are now run by Annie Wilson, director of business development. Kayak chief marketing officer Robert Birge told Travolution that kayak.com “continues to see momentum in Europe and growth has accelerated”.
