AWAL Ups Arif Mahmud to General Counsel and SVP, Global Business Affairs

Arif Mahmud has been promoted to General Counsel and SVP of Global Business Affairs at AWAL. He is based in AWAL’s London office and will continue to report to CEO Lonny Olinick.

Backstory:

• Prior to joining AWAL as VP, Business Affairs (UK) in February 2017, Mahmud served in the Business Affairs team at Universal Music (Polydor, Fiction and Capitol Records).

• He also worked at management/entertainment company Three Six Zero as General Manager and General Counsel.

• In 2018 he became SVP, Business Affairs (UK) at AWAL, and in 2023 was promoted to SVP, Global Business Affairs, coinciding with the company’s operations expanding internationally.

• As per AWAL’s statement, Mahmud has “contributed to its development of closer links with, and understanding of, the management community as well as pushing a viable but flexible suite of agile deal offerings to allow AWAL to partner with a wide array of clients and artists.”

What they said:

• Lonny Olinick: “Arif has been an integral part of AWAL’s success since he joined. His ability to put himself in the shoes of our artists and in turn create partnerships where our artists are the ultimate winners is completely unique. He has done this all while helping us expand the business to benefit artists throughout the globe, building an incredible team in the process. He is viewed as a true partner to our whole company, finding solutions at every step of AWAL’s evolution.”