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Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, announced today that Eric Hutcherson, the former EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer of the National Basketball Association (NBA), has been named UMG’s Executive Vice President and Chief People and Inclusion Officer, a newly created position that will work across UMG’s record labels, publishing division and operating companies worldwide.

Hutcherson, whose appointment is effective immediately, will serve on UMG’s Executive Management Board and report directly to UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge. He will work closely with UMG’s senior management team to: align UMG’s talent functions; globally amplify the company’s entrepreneurial-based culture; accelerate diversity and inclusion across all levels and territories; attract, retain and develop talent; accelerate the company’s social justice initiatives and build on the company’s successful track-record of driving innovation by recruiting employees who bring new ideas, perspectives and skillsets.

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Sir Lucian Grainge said, “Our strength as a company comes from our people and our culture – combining the quality, passion and dedication of our people with our entrepreneurial drive. And that translates into the success of our artists and songwriters. But this new position is a reflection of the fact that, in music, you can’t rest on your past success. You need to improve and grow, and you need to continually become more diverse and inclusive. Eric understands that, and over his career he has built a track record to prove it. I’m thrilled to welcome Eric to UMG and looking forward to working with him as we drive our company to new levels of success.”

Hutcherson said, “I’m thrilled to join UMG. Music is special and uniquely universal; it drives culture in a way that nothing else quite does. Lucian has created a world-class organization that empowers employees to think for themselves, to be creative and break new ground, to take calculated risks, and to value competition and entrepreneurialism. It’s a culture that fundamentally understands that success requires true diversity and real inclusion and continuous improvement.

Hutcherson joins UMG from the NBA, where he managed a team that drove the NBA’s global workforce strategy built on a commitment to attract, retain, develop and engage top talent for the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League and NBA 2K League. With a focus on people, culture and innovation, Hutcherson was responsible for leading global projects, processes and analytics that addressed business needs. He partnered with the leagues’ senior leadership to enable, empower and develop employees in 13 offices globally, guided by the league’s strategic direction.

Prior to joining the NBA in July 2014, Hutcherson was Managing Director and Chief HR Officer for the U.S. and Canada Division of Marsh, a leading global insurance brokerage firm. Before that, he held several leadership positions at Mercer, a financial services and human resource consulting firm, including Chief Human Resources Officer – Americas, and Global Leader for Mercer’s Outsourcing and Global Operations and Shared Services businesses.

Earlier in his career, he worked for Foot Locker and served as Assistant Director of Public Relations for the Boston Celtics.

Hutcherson is also a motivational speaker and created a career development training program, “Say Yes to Success.” He serves on the Board of Councilors for the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, the Senior Advisory Council for the National Association of African Americans in HR, the Executive Advisory Committee for CNBC. He also served on the Executive Board for Covenant House New York and has been recently named to the Covenant House International Board. Additionally, he serves as strategic advisor to the Board of Directors for the Young Peoples Chorus; a multicultural youth chorus whose mission is to provide children of all economic and cultural backgrounds with a unique program of music education and choral performance.

Hutcherson earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from New York University and a master’s degree in Sports Management and Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He recently relocated to Calabasas, CA with his wife Linda and their two sons, Austin and Myles.