Amy Wheatley and Negla Abdela have been appointed to key leadership positions at Ministry Of Sound.
Sony Music UK announces the news today (January 11), as Wheatley (above, left) moves up from general manager to managing director, and former head of digital Abdela (above, right) becomes GM. Both will report to Ministry Of Sound president Dipesh Parmar (above, centre).
Parmar and Wheatley starred on the cover of Music Week last June in recognition of a run of success for a range of acts including Sanit Jhn – who had the third-biggest selling single of 2020 and the first lockdown No.1 – Regard, Doja Cat and London Grammar, who return this year.
The label is also enjoying success with emerging acts including Bklava, while recent singles from Paul Woolford & Diplo, Sigala and James Arthur and Tate Mcrae continue to grow.
Wheatley joined Ministry Of Sound in 2017 and has worked with Parmar to oversee the label’s recent growth, growing its roster and integrating playlisting and compilations into the label. Abdela joined in 2015 as a social media channel manager and as promoted to head of digital in 2018. Last year, the executive was inducted onto the Music Week Women In Music Awards Roll Of Honour.
Amy Wheatley said: “My Ministry journey has been amazing so far. It’s an incredibly exciting time for the label, we have lots more to achieve and with the driven, creative and passionate team as well as the amazing artists we work with, this is just the beginning and I couldn’t be prouder to step into this role and help accomplish this. Huge thank you to Dipesh and Jason Iley for the support, trust and guidance and massive congratulations to Negla, who thoroughly deserves her promotion.”
This is just the beginning and I couldn’t be prouder
Amy Wheatley, Ministry Of Sound
Negla Abdela said: “I’ve found a home at Ministry mainly thanks to Dipesh and Amy for giving me autonomy, room to grow and the space to be myself. Their trust in me has been invaluable over the last four years as well as the support the label has had from Jason. I’m really excited to be stepping into 2021 in this role. It’s important to see more women in leadership positions, especially black women as it shows that it is achievable no matter what your background is. This is the best way to top off the amazing year we had and I’m so proud of our whole team.”
It’s important to see more women in leadership positions
Negla Abdela, Ministry Of Sound
Dipesh Parmar said: “I’m absolutely delighted for both Amy and Negla to take key positions within the label. Negla’s digital nuance has helped Ministry excel in the world of online engagement and Amy is a leader in every sense. Her drive and passion for both the roster and the team makes her one of the most respected and dynamic executives in the business.
He added: “We all share the same vision for the label and the artists we want to sign. We’ve had one of our best years of growth in the business and I’m excited they will help to oversee the label’s continued domination, not just in electronic music but in the artist development space.”
Subscribers can read our interview with Abdela here. Read our cover interview with Dipesh Parmar and Amy Wheatley in full here.
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