Photo courtesy of Sulinna Ong
In one of the most significant music industry executive moves of the year, Sulinna Ong is stepping down from her powerhouse role at Spotify to join U2’s management team. Taking on the newly created position of Management Partner, Ong will work directly alongside industry titans Irving and Jeffrey Azoff at Full Stop Management to steer the Irish rock icons’ global career.
Reporting directly to Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr., Ong’s role will heavily focus on “creative and innovation.” The band expressed immense enthusiasm for the hire in a joint statement, praising the “flair, finesse, and clarity” she brings to bridging art and audience. Irving Azoff echoed that praise, calling Ong one of the absolute best executives in the business with an unparalleled instinct for cultural trends.
Ong leaves behind a stellar seven-year legacy at Spotify, where she most recently served as the Global Head of Editorial & Curation. Widely regarded as an industry tastemaker—once profiled by the Wall Street Journal as “The Woman with the Most Valuable Ears in Music”—Ong has been a fixture on Billboard’s Power Players and Women in Music lists for multiple consecutive years. Prior to her streaming tenure, she built a diverse resume spanning major roles at Sony Music, Live Nation, and Deezer.
The high-profile hire comes at a pivotal, highly active moment for U2. Since partnering with Full Stop Management in 2022, the band successfully launched Las Vegas’s cutting-edge Sphere venue with a historic residency. In 2026, the rock legends have kicked into high gear, surprise-releasing two EPs—Days of Ash and Easter Lily—with a highly anticipated new studio album on the horizon, marking their first full-length effort since 2017. Crucially, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. has fully returned to the fold following surgery, joining the band in the studio.
With Ong’s background in tech, curation, and artist marketing paired with the Azoffs’ management prowess, U2 is uniquely positioned to navigate the modern digital and live music landscape. As Ong noted of her new venture, the team already has “ambitious plans for what’s next.”
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