Roberto Neri, a seasoned music industry executive, will be taking over as the CEO of Great Britain’s Ivors Academy on April 15th.

Neri, who most recently served as the CEO of the publishing branch of Believe, brings over two decades of experience with him to the Ivors Academy. At Believe, he oversaw the integration of the publishing platform Sentric, which added four million songs and over 400,000 songwriters into the company’s catalog.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to step into the role of CEO of The Ivors Academy,” Neri said in an official press statement. “It is a dream job to fervently advocate for and represent songwriters and composers. I believe now, more than ever, is the pivotal moment to ensure music creators’ interests are protected, championed, valued and recognised for their central and indispensable role in the success of the entire music business.”

Founded in 1944, first as the Composers Guild of Great Britain, the Ivors Academy is the United Kingdom’s professional association for songwriters and composers. Throughout its history, the Academy’s mission has been to promote British musical artists of all backgrounds, genres, and career stages.

The Ivors Academy promotes British music every year at the Ivor Novello Awards and the Ivor Classical Awards.