AWAL Promotes Matt Riley, Victoria Needs and Sam Potts

AWAL UK has announced several executive promotions, with MD Matt Riley elevated to President, and SVPs Victoria Needs and Sam Potts promoted to Co-Managing Directors.

Mr President:

• Riley joined AWAL in 2014, leading artist development through various A&R roles, working with artists such as Tom Misch and Rex Orange County.

• He took on the UK AWAL Recordings business in 2023, alongside Potts and Needs, building a roster that includes Jungle, Little Simz, CMAT, James Marriott, kwn, Wretch 32 and more.

The Co-MDs:

• Needs worked at EMI, Warner and Sony before joining AWAL in 2020.

• There she’s overseen global campaigns for Djo, Little Simz, Jungle and Laufey, and domestic strategies for CMAT and James Marriott.

• Potts joined AWAL in 2019 from Warner Bros and Columbia Records.

• His initial focus on promotions and streaming strategy has grown to include creator relationships and digital partnerships.

What they said:

• Paul Hitchman, Chief Operating Officer at AWAL: “These promotions for Matt, Vic and Sam are very well deserved after a sustained period of success for AWAL in the UK. Their collective leadership has been transformative for AWAL’s UK business over the last few years, and we are seeing the fruits of that work now with new artists breaking through to global success, and established artists achieving career highs.”