Leila Oliveira has been promoted to the role of president of Warner Music Brazil, effective from October 28. She will step up into the role to succeed Sérgio Affonso, who has been president of Warner Music Brazil for more than 15 years and is leaving at the end of October to launch his own independent label, which will be distributed by Warner Music.
Oliveira will continue to be based at Warner Music Brazil’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro and will report to Alejandro Duque, President, Warner Music Latin America.
She has served as general manager of Warner Music Brazil, overseeing the company’s A&R, marketing and business development functions, since November 2021. Oliveira joined Warner Music Brazil back in 2013, heading up its business development operations and played a key part in shifting it to a digital-first business model.
“It’s an incredible honor to be asked to succeed Sergio as president of Warner Music Brazil,” she said. “I’ve worked for him for almost a decade and learnt so much about how to support artists and stay nimble in our ever changing industry. I’ve got huge ambitions to further grow our company and make Brazil a source of global talent for Warner Music.”
Affonso added: “I’ve had an amazing time running Warner Music Brazil, getting to spend time supporting the most remarkable artists and helping turn their dreams into careers. I know that they’re all in safe hands with Leila, who I’ve worked with closely for nearly a decade and proudly indicated as my successor. I’m sure she’ll build on my legacy to make Warner Music Brazil even bigger and better. I’ve got a number of exciting projects in the pipeline and will be speaking about them in due course.”
Alejandro Duque also commented: “This is a pivotal moment in the development of Warner Music Brazil. Sergio has done so much to build a strong company that has delivered amazing success for artists from a huge range of backgrounds. Now Leila will write the next chapter in the company’s history, building on Sergio’s success and making Warner Music Brazil a force to be reckoned with on the global music scene.”
Affonso has worked at Warner Music for 38 years. During that time he signed artists like Kelly Key, O Rappa, Raimundos, Maria Rita, Céu and Detonautas, also having worked with some of the biggest names in Brazilian music – Milton Nascimento, Paralamas do Sucesso, Gilberto Gil, Rita Lee, Jorge BenJor, Gonzaquinha, Titãs, Ultraje a Rigor, Kid Abelha, Barão Vermelho and many others.
Between 2002 and 2007 he was president of Warner Music Mexico and signed artists such as Jesse y Joy, Motel, Miguel Islas, Panda and Ximena Sariñana. He has also worked with some of the biggest Latin stars in the world, including Alejandro Sanz, Jorge Drexler, La Ley, Laura Pausini, Luis Miguel, Maná, Miguel Bose, Pesado, Celso Piña, El Tri and Francisco Cespedes. And he actively participated in the tours of some of Warner Music’s biggest global artists, including David Bowie, Madonna and Tina Turner.