John Esposito Named WEA President

WEA Inc., Warner Music Group's U.S. manufacturing, distribution and packaging operation, has named John Esposito to the newly created position of president. Reporting to WEA Inc. CEO Jim Caparro, Esposito will be responsible for overseeing the company's sales and marketing and branch distribution activities.

Esposito comes to WEA Inc. from The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJ) where, as general manager/executive vice president, he managed the company's day-to-day activities. He was one of the original architects of IDJ, and during his tenure, the company progressively increased its revenue and market share to become one of the industry's leading record companies.

Caparro said, "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. 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."

Prior to IDJ, Esposito held a variety of executive positions at PolyGram, Inc. Before joining PolyGram, from 1993 to 1994, he was the chief operating officer of music and movies at The Wiz retail chain. From 1986 to 1993, Esposito was regional vice president-northeast division of Mitsubishi Electronics America, where he managed the sales and operations staff.

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