Executive Turntable: ASCAP Names Chief of Staff — Plus, SoundCloud and PPL Add to C-Suite

ASCAP has named media veteran Marc Zelanko as chief of staff, reporting directly to CEO Elizabeth Matthews. In this newly created role, Zelanko will help drive ASCAP’s mission to grow revenues and improve operational efficiency for its 1.1 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers.

Zelanko brings more than 20 years of experience in business operations and transformation within IP-driven media and entertainment companies. Most recently, he served as senior vice president at Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS), where he led strategic initiatives to strengthen operations and streamline processes across global teams. His wins include organizing CEO-level leadership forums, managing the COVID Task Force to maintain operations for 15,000-plus U.S. employees, reducing liabilities through HR process improvements and coordinating the Viacom Marketing Council.

In the aughts, he spent five year at MTV Networks, where he rose to senior vp of business operations and notably helped scale Scratch, a creative consultancy launched by the network.

Earlier in his career, Zelanko worked in the Media & Entertainment Group at Booz Allen Hamilton. He holds a degree from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Matthews praised Zelanko’s appointment, stating: “Marc is the perfect fit to help ASCAP deliver on our mission to grow revenues and drive efficiencies for the benefit of our more than 1.1 million songwriters, composers and music publishers.  He brings a wealth of experience working cross-functionally to lead complex global initiatives, and we are excited to add him to our senior leadership team.”

Zelanko added: “ASCAP has a mindset of innovation and evolution to meet the changing needs of its members and licensees. I look forward to bringing my expertise to ASCAP’s mission in support of improving the future for its songwriters, composers and music publishers.”

This announcement follows ASCAP’s recent hire of John Pershing as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Pershing, formerly with What If Media Group, brings extensive experience in IT, product development, and data engineering, further strengthening ASCAP’s leadership team.

Check out a full rundown of this week’s staffing news below.