Thomas Hesse

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 currently Co-Founder and CEO of DREAMSTAGE, a ticketed premium live streaming virtual concert service for artists and fans. He is also the Founder and CEO of Consonance Investments, LLC, which manages a successful angel/ seed investment portfolio. Thomas was President of Global Digital Business and US Sales &a; 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;A, and a number of transformational initiatives. He was a Senior Adviser to CVC Capital Partners, and turnaround CEO at online auction house Paddle8 Auctionata. 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 startup CEO and venture investor * Transformed Sony Music digital revenue profile from zero to 50% of company * Co-founded leading music video platform VEVO * Led transformation of media company Bertelsmann * Ran merger of Sony Music and BMG * Built #1 content website for leading European TV broadcaster