The Beatport Group has announced the appointment of Sofia Ilyas to the position of Chief Community Officer at the company. In this newly created role, Ilyas will oversee the company’s diversity, inclusion and social action efforts. Additionally, she will head corporate communications, set the strategy for emerging growth markets and manage the company’s numerous partnerships with DJ and producer community organizations around the world.
“As we continue to evolve and grow Beatport around the world, we want to ensure we continue to have a positive impact on our customers, our employees and the global dance community at large,” said Robb McDaniels, CEO of The Beatport Group. “Sofia has a proven track record at building coalitions among music, hardware and technology communities and accelerating diversity and equity initiatives within our industry, which makes her perfect to lead this very important new role at Beatport.”
Prior to joining Beatport, Ilyas was a Director at the innovative headphone company Nura, where she spearheaded PR and marketing strategy, delivering industry-first campaigns and partnerships within the music-tech and headphone sectors. Prior to that she headed her PR and marketing agency FLOAT, where she created and executed innovative campaigns for DJ Sasha, Dishoom, Christian Löffler and more. She was also a co-manager at the record label Erased Tapes. She has curated annual Piano Day events since 2016 in London and Melbourne, delivering diversity in lineups and multidisciplinary concert experiences. 2023’s London edition took place at The National Gallery.
“Beatport has developed an enormous sphere of influence in the dance community that touches artists, DJs, music creators and fans,” said Ilyas. “I’m excited to be coming into the company to focus on ensuring that all of these communities are encompassed in everything we do.”
