Spotify Hires Christian Luiga as CFO

Spotify announced the appointment of Christian Luiga, a senior executive at European defense and security company Saab AB, as its next CFO.

Luiga, 55, is expected to start at the music and audio streamer in the third quarter of 2024. Ben Kung, Spotify’s VP of financial planning and analysis, will serve as interim CFO until Luiga’s start date.

Spotify in December 2023 announced that former CFO Paul Vogel would exit the company in the spring of 2024. Word of Vogel’s departure came three days after Spotify announced it was laying off 17% of its workforce, eliminating some 1,500 jobs worldwide. Daniel Ek, founder, chairman and CEO of Spotify, said in a statement at the time that the company “is entering a new phase and needs a CFO with a different mix of experiences.”

Luiga has served as deputy CEO and CFO of Saab AB, a defense and security company based in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2020 (which spun off its automotive division in the late 1980s before it declared bankruptcy in 2011). Previously, he served in various roles at Telia, a Swedish telecommunications company, since 2009, including as CFO and acting CEO and president.

Saab AB separately announced Luiga’s resignation on Thursday, saying that he will stay with Saab until Oct. 3 in order to ensure a “smooth transition” to his successor. “I have really enjoyed my time at Saab and it is a fantastic company with great opportunities,” Luiga said in a statement.

At Spotify, Luiga will be based in Sweden and will have responsibility for financial planning and analysis, audit and risk, investor relations, accounting, corporate development, tax and treasury.