NEW YORK, NY - Jessica Rivera has been promoted to the new position of Executive Vice President/Head of East Coast Operations reporting to Jody Gerson, UMPG Chairman and CEO, and Evan Lamberg, UMPG President – North America.

Based in NYC and working closely with Lamberg, Rivera will lead the expansion of the New York creative team and continue to develop, nurture and sign talent.

In making the announcement, Gerson said: "I’m very pleased to promote Jessica to this new role which will bring even more to the team and our songwriters. Evan has supported and mentored Jessica and she’s developed into a dynamic creative executive. Having known her many years, she has consistently impressed me by her instincts and leadership skills, and I’m thrilled to finally be on the same team with her at this company.”

“Jessica has done a wonderful job developing into one of the very best creative executives in our industry. The value she adds to songwriters, and her proven hit track record of identifying and developing talent, is a real competitive advantage for Universal Music Publishing. I am very proud of all she is doing,” said Lamberg.

Added Rivera: “I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to continue to grow as an executive and reach over creative boundaries at UMPG. I am thankful for the continued support of Jody Gerson and Evan Lamberg, whom I have admired during my years in music publishing and they continue to educate me. I have learned a great deal from many of the great executives here at UMPG, which has helped me grow in knowledge of the business of Music Publishing and creative vision. I look forward to many more conversations and growing with our exceptional team.”

With a proven track record as a hit-driven creative with a talent for developing songwriters, Rivera has signed multi-platinum songwriters and artists such as mega-hitmaker Alex Da Kid (including his KidInaKorner Publishing JV which houses multi-platinum band Imagine Dragons), Pop Wansel, DJ Khalil, Emile Haynie, Phil Lawrence of The Smeezingtons, and Jeremih, to name a few. Prior to UMPG she worked at EMI Publishing as Director of A&R, East Coast, where she signed Rihanna before the recording of her first album with Island Def Jam. Prior to her position at EMI, Jessica worked in A&R at both Def Jam Records and Bad Boy Records.