Universal Music Group has promoted Manusha Sarawan to managing director, Southern and East Africa.
UMG was the first major label to open offices in Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon and Morocco, alongside its established operations in Nigeria and South Africa.
Sarawan has held various roles across the music industry, and most recently was chief operating officer at UMG Sub-Saharan Africa.
At UMG South Africa, Sarawan pioneered a digital-first approach to business as streaming has become more widespread. In addition, she has played a key role in negotiating the contracts of some of the most successful African artists.
In her new role, Manusha Sarawan will continue to work closely with Adam Granite, UMG’s EVP, market development, to grow UMG’s roster of artists, and help them achieve success both domestically and around the world.
Adam Granite, EVP, market development, said: “I am delighted to promote Manusha to managing director for Southern and East Africa. She’s someone I’ve known since her days at Sony, and during her time at Universal she has repeatedly shown her leadership skills and strong business acumen. Manusha is ideally suited to developing the careers of our market-leading label roster – both regionally and internationally I can’t wait to see her go from strength to strength.”
Manusha Sarawan, MD, Southern and East Africa, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for African music, as it continues to build new audiences both here and across the world. We have an amazing roster of talent here, and it’s a huge privilege to get to work with our artists and our talented team to promote African music on the world stage.”
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