Michelle An Named President and Chief Creative Officer at Interscope Geffen A&M
Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) has named Michelle An its President and Chief Creative Officer, the label announced on 21 October 2026. Laura Carter and Ramon Alvarez-Smikle were promoted to Co-Presidents, Urban in the same announcement. All three appointments took effect immediately, according to Music Business Worldwide.
An will continue to lead IGA Pop/Rock while taking on a wider role across the company. She reports to John Janick, Chairman and CEO of Interscope Capitol. Carter and Alvarez-Smikle also report to Janick and will work closely with her.
Alvarez-Smikle's new remit includes building and scaling the digital systems and infrastructure that serve the whole IGA roster, which spans both Urban and Pop/Rock. The job is less about a single genre than about the plumbing that gets music to listeners.
The promotions come a week after Music Business Worldwide reported that Nicole Wyskoarko and Sam Riback were leaving their senior A&R posts at IGA. A&R, short for artists and repertoire, is the part of a label that finds and develops artists and signs them. Both departures were part of a wider run of executive exits at Universal Music Group (UMG), IGA's parent company.
Among those leaving UMG is Tunji Balogun, Chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, who will exit by the end of the year. Music Business Worldwide tied the layoffs to UMG's cost-cutting programme, which targets EUR 250 million in annual savings, or about USD 270 million at the time.
UMG's chief financial officer, Matt Ellis, told investors on the company's March full-year 2025 earnings call that EUR 90 million of savings had been achieved in 2025. He said a further EUR 40-50 million was expected in 2026 and EUR 35-45 million in 2027.
The new IGA roles are also a story about careers. Michelle An had been IGA President and Head of Creative Strategy, and Billboard reported in 2024 that she led the pop/rock side of the division alongside Sam Riback. Carter had been Executive Vice President and Head of Urban Marketing, and Alvarez-Smikle was promoted to senior vice president, head of urban digital marketing at Interscope Records in 2020, according to Variety.
For the artists and staff at IGA, the practical question is who makes the calls. The company has now named the people in charge of creative direction, urban music and digital infrastructure, and each reports to the same chairman.
