Virgin Music Group has appointed Syaheed MSBI as Vice President for Africa, the Middle East and Asia (AMEA), a newly created role overseeing its regional activities. The appointment strengthens the company’s leadership in emerging music markets as it expands its global independent-label and artist-services operation following its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings.

MSBI joins after more than 13 years at Believe, where he most recently served as Global Artist Success and International Director and helped develop artist services in Southeast Asia and Australia. He previously founded Singapore-based independent music company Bedsty in 2002, and his appointment adds to Virgin’s existing AMEA leadership network across countries including India, China, Nigeria, South Africa and South Korea.