(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
Bob Morelli has been named Executive Vice President and general manager, RED Distribution. In his new role, Morelli will oversee all areas of RED Distribution's operations, including sales, marketing, new media, field marketing and support services. Reporting to him will be RED's senior management team which includes Alan Becker, senior vice president, Product Development; Tony Timpano, vice president, Business & Legal Affairs; Greg Bell, vice president, Finance & Administration; Laura Marques, vice president, Marketing; Lou Tatulli, vice president, Field Sales; and Howard Gabriel, senior vice president/general manager, RED Ink.
"Bob is widely respected by the label and retail communities for his expert understanding of the music market, and recognized for his ability to work in true partnership with the labels he distributes," said Bill Frohlich, co-president of Sony BMG Sales Enterprise.
"Bob's impressive track record in sales and marketing combined with his entrepreneurial spirit and integrity make him distinctly qualified to lead RED," commented Jordan Katz, co-presidents of Sony BMG Sales Enterprise. "I am confident that under his leadership, RED's unique position as the dominant resource for the independent community will only be strengthened."
"I look forward to working with the talented RED team that, with Ken Antonelli's leadership, built the company into the preeminent distributor for independent labels," said Morelli. "Together we will continue to bring innovation and dedication to RED's incredible family of labels while enhancing our capabilities in a number of key areas to better serve our labels and their artists."
Morelli most recently served as executive vice president/general manager, Sony BMG MUSIC Sales, for which he oversaw the integration of the former sales operations of BMG Distribution and Sony Music Distribution. Prior to that he was senior vice president, Marketing and Branch Operations for BMG Distribution, where he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility since joining the company in 1985. During his tenure at BMG Distribution, he was responsible for overseeing distribution, sales and marketing for a group of third-party labels that included Razor & Tie, V2, Sanctuary, Wind-up Records, ATO Records, Time Bomb, Octone, and Robbins Entertainment, among others. He was also responsible for restarting Wasabi, an independent distribution arm, as well as for running BMG's Independent Distribution Network. He started his career at Polygram as a sales representative. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen