Defected Records CEO and leadership

Leo Tao is a Chief Executive Officer at Defected Records and is based in Kingston Upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom.

Acknowledged widely as an authority on all things marketing, James Kirkham joined Defected Records as Chief Business Officer in January 2020. Making the move to the label from an advertising and marketing background, James had just concluded four years at the football media business COPA90, where during his successful tenure as CBO he oversaw a 100% increase in revenue year-on-year, and coordinated partnerships with brands such as Uber, Budweiser, Nike, Pepsi and EA Sports.

As well as his impressive work with COPA90, where James and his team built a vast audience of young fans, peaking at 650 million monthly views in 2019, James has established himself as a media innovator and specialist voice on the industry, providing insights for news outlets such as The Guardian, CNN, Sky News and the BBC. As one of the world’s foremost media industry speakers, he has appeared on stage 8 times at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, featured in BIMA’s prestigious Top 100 for three years running and was recently selected as one of the top Leaders Under 40 in the sports business. He was also named in Campaign Magazine’s esteemed ‘Power 100’ in July 2019 and A-list.

Prior to COPA90, James founded his own digital agency Holler, the first in the world to market a TV show using social media, and the trailblazing nature of the business was noticed by industry leaders Publicis Group, who acquired Holler in 2010. James was promoted to Leo Burnett Worldwide’s Global Head of Social and Mobile, working with clients such as Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s.

In January 2020 James started his new chapter at Defected Records, joining the label as it enters its third decade. James is overseeing all social, content, marketing and PR activations at Defected, and makes an invaluable addition to the company as it navigates its position as an industry leader in a new era for the music industry.

In March 2020 Defected launched their Virtual Festival, a standalone event that evolved into a weekly residency in response to multiple event cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Within four weeks the online residency accumulated over 10 million views and gained worldwide recognition and acclaim, gaining media coverage in Creative Review, The Telegraph, BBC Radio 2, 6Music, Evening Standard, Le Monde France and Sky News.

Jamie Watkins is an Advisory Board Member at Cranfield University, Consultant. Advisor. Mentor. at Awake Earth CBD), and Ambassador at CANCER RESEARCH WALES and is based in London, Greater London, United Kingdom. She has worked as Senior Electrical Project Engineer at GS YUASA BATTERY EUROPE LIMITED, Co-Founder at RUMM Ltd, and Founder at SysComm Services Ltd. Jamie studied at UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES between 1993 and 1999 and The University of Glamorgan between 1993 and 1999.

Simon Dawson is a Marketing COO at Defected Records and is based in London, Greater London, United Kingdom. He has worked as Head of Marketing at Defected Records, Head of Recordings at Defected Records, and Label Manager at BMG The New Music Company. Simon attended Leeds Arts University between 2000 and 2001 and Buckinghamshire New University between 2001 and 2004.