Bio

Thomas Hesse is an experienced leader with over 20 years in music, entertainment, digital business building, and venture capital. He has worked as CEO and senior executive in large and small organizations. Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Consonance Investments, LLC, managing a successful angel/ seed investment portfolio. He is the Founder and former CEO of DREAMSTAGE Inc., a paid streaming platform for live performances, acquired by Deezer. He is Senior Advisor to Musixmatch, the world's biggest music lyrics service, acquired by TPG, and several other startups and investors. Thomas was President of Global Digital Business and US Sales & Distribution for Sony Music Entertainment, driving the transformation of the music business and digital revenue growth for many years. He was also President and Chief Digital Officer for Bertelsmann where he ran the venture funds, M&A, and several major transformational initiatives. He was a Senior Adviser to CVC Capital Partners, and has worked as turnaround CEO. Prior to Sony, Thomas was EVP and Chief Strategy Officer at music major BMG where he ran the merger process with Sony Music. He previously held various leadership roles in European TV as CEO of RTL Interactive and Head of Program Acquisition/Distribution for RTL Television. He started his professional career as a Consultant for McKinsey. Thomas holds a BA and MA from Oxford University, an MSc from the London School of Economics and a Doctorate in Corporate Finance from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He studied as a concert pianist at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Hochschule für Musik in Düsseldorf, Germany. Career highlights: * Created significant value as venture investor and CEO * Transformed Sony Music digital revenue profile from zero to 50% of company * Co-founded leading music video platform VEVO * Led digital transformation at $20bn media company Bertelsmann * Ran merger of SONY MUSIC and BMG * Built #1 online platform for leading European TV broadcaster RTL