The post Spotify Shares Drop After Founder Ek Exits appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Topline Spotify shares dropped more than $4% as trading opened on Tuesday, after the audio-streaming platform announced billionaire founder Daniel Ek would step down as chief executive after nearly two decades leading the company. The audio-streaming platform reported its first full-year profitability last year after expanding to podcasts and audiobooks. Anadolu via Getty Images Key Facts Shares of Spotify dropped 4% around $697 as trading opened Tuesday, following a similar decline in premarket. Spotify said in a statement Ek will transition to executive chairman, while co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström—both of whom will still report to Ek—will serve as co-chief executives effective Jan. 1, 2026 In his new role, Ek will “more closely reflect a European Chairman setup,” Spotify said, indicating Ek will “determine capital allocation, map the long-term future of Spotify and continue to provide support and guidance to its senior team.” “And to be clear, I’m not leaving,” Ek told Spotify employees in a memo, adding he would remain involved in the “big, defining decisions about our future.” Ek told Forbes that Spotify had been working on a transition to Söderström and Norström for years, noting they were “more capable and more than ready to take it on,” and, “I feel now is the time, and I don’t want to hold them back.” Forbes Valuation Ek has a fortune estimated at $10.3 billion, ranking him the 293rd-richest person in the world as of Tuesday. He holds roughly 9% of Spotify’s shares and has benefited from the stock nearly doubling over the last year, as his net worth swelled from about $4.2 billion last year and $2.3 billion in 2023. Big Number $73.9 billion. That’s roughly how much has been added to Spotify’s market capitalization over the last 12 months, as the stock has surged nearly 98% with… The post Spotify Shares Drop After Founder Ek Exits appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Topline Spotify shares dropped more than $4% as trading opened on Tuesday, after the audio-streaming platform announced billionaire founder Daniel Ek would step down as chief executive after nearly two decades leading the company. The audio-streaming platform reported its first full-year profitability last year after expanding to podcasts and audiobooks. Anadolu via Getty Images Key Facts Shares of Spotify dropped 4% around $697 as trading opened Tuesday, following a similar decline in premarket. Spotify said in a statement Ek will transition to executive chairman, while co-presidents Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström—both of whom will still report to Ek—will serve as co-chief executives effective Jan. 1, 2026 In his new role, Ek will “more closely reflect a European Chairman setup,” Spotify said, indicating Ek will “determine capital allocation, map the long-term future of Spotify and continue to provide support and guidance to its senior team.” “And to be clear, I’m not leaving,” Ek told Spotify employees in a memo, adding he would remain involved in the “big, defining decisions about our future.” Ek told Forbes that Spotify had been working on a transition to Söderström and Norström for years, noting they were “more capable and more than ready to take it on,” and, “I feel now is the time, and I don’t want to hold them back.” Forbes Valuation Ek has a fortune estimated at $10.3 billion, ranking him the 293rd-richest person in the world as of Tuesday. He holds roughly 9% of Spotify’s shares and has benefited from the stock nearly doubling over the last year, as his net worth swelled from about $4.2 billion last year and $2.3 billion in 2023. Big Number $73.9 billion. That’s roughly how much has been added to Spotify’s market capitalization over the last 12 months, as the stock has surged nearly 98% with…