Denis Anthony Handlin
AO (born 1951) is an Australian former entrepreneur and business executive who served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand and President of Sony Music Entertainment Asia Inc, commencing employment in the company in 1970 until 5 June 2021, making him the longest serving global Sony Music employee.
Additionally, Handlin has served on the committees of several industry associations and has held various positions including Chairman of the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia, Vice Chairman of the
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...
(ARIA) and Chairman of the ARIA Industry Chart Committee and has been a member of the ARIA Board from 1984 until 5 June 2021.
In October 2021, the Australian current affairs television program ''
Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
'' interviewed over 100 Sony Music employees who alleged abuse, intimidation and bullying perpetrated by Handlin.
Early life and education
Handlin was born in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
in 1951 and educated at
St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace
, motto_translation = To serve God is to be wise
, address = 285 Gregory Terrace
, city = Brisbane
, state = Queensland
, postcode = 4000
, country = Australia
, ...
.
Career
In May 1970, Handlin started in the Distribution Division within the
Australian Record Company (later known as
CBS Records International
CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. ( CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture an ...
,
Sony BMG
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...
now
Sony Music Australia
Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. SMEA also formerly published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...
).
In 1976, Handlin moved to Sydney and held numerous senior positions including National Promotions Manager, Director of Marketing and General Manager, Marketing and Sales.
On 1 January 1985, Handlin was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian company.
In February 1996, Handlin was made Chairman of Sony Music Entertainment Australia Limited and appointed to the international committee responsible for the company's global strategy.
In May 1996, Handlin became the first Australian and the first Sony Music Entertainment executive to be honoured with the CEO Special Recognition Award presented by Sony Chairman and CEO
Norio Ohga
, otherwise spelled ''Norio Oga'' (January 29, 1930 – April 23, 2011), was the former president and chairman of Sony Corporation, credited with spurring the development of the compact disc as a commercially viable audio format.
Biography
Early ...
.
In 2002, Handlin was appointed to chair the Sony Music International Strategy committee.
In 2005 at the Australia Day Honours List, Handlin was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of "service to the music industry, particularly through the promotion of Australian musicians, to professional organisations, and to the community through fundraising for charitable organisations".
In September 2010, in addition to his Australia and New Zealand responsibilities, Handlin was appointed President, South East Asia & Korea and was further expanded as President, Asia in August 2011.
In November 2012, Handlin was elected to the position of Vice Chairman of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
) Asia Regional Board and in November 2014, Handlin was elected as Chairman of the IFPI Asia Pacific Board.
In October 2014, a Sony Foundation event was held to recognise Denis' 30 years leading Sony Music Australia. The event raised funds to create a special endowment fund to provide annual grants to support children with disabilities.
In June 2017 at the Queen's Birthday Honours List, Handlin was elevated to and awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), in recognition of "for distinguished service to the Australian recording industry, through leadership and mentoring roles, as a supporter of young artists, and to charitable organisations as a director, patron and contributor".
In February 2018, Handlin was announced as "the Number 1 most influential figure in the Australian music industry" by music industry publication, ''The Music''.
On 21 June 2021, it was announced that Handlin was leaving the company.
His departure was effective immediately and was announced by Sony Music's global boss Rob Stringer in an internal email.
As he no longer worked at Sony Music, he could no longer be on the ARIA board and exited immediately.
Bullying and harassment allegations
In October 2021, the Australian current affairs television program ''
Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
'' aired interviews with Sony Music employees who alleged abuse, intimidation and bullying perpetrated by Handlin during his years in charge at Sony Music Australia. Handlin was alleged to have routinely singled out members of staff for humiliation and intimidation, which left many "traumatised" and resulted in rates of close to 50 per cent annual turnover of staff at the company by the late 1990s.
Former head of human resources at Sony Music Australia Greg Lockhart likened working under Handlin to being a "servant" who did not work for Sony Music but rather "Handlin and the 'cult' of his personality".
Despite fostering the careers of such female artists as
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive wee ...
, Handlin was alleged to have encouraged a "laddish" culture where female employees were regularly objectified, with Handlin himself alleged to have made sexualised comments about their appearances. He is also alleged to have ordered employees to be fired for "not smiling at him", because he did not like the "look" of them, or for being pregnant, with seven women made redundant while on maternity leave in the period between 2007 and 2013, and "paid cash settlements" following their termination from the company.
Lockhart also alleged he was instructed by Handlin to hire
private investigator
A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...
s to follow staff. Several anonymous former female employees also alleged they were sexually harassed and assaulted during their time at the company. Handlin said in a statement that while in charge of the company he "would never tolerate treating women in an inappropriate or discriminatory manner" and when informed of incidents, he "took action to ensure that it was stopped and didn't occur again".
Handlin was previously suspended by the Sony Music head office in 1998, with 10 executives flown out to Sony Music's global headquarters in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
for one-on-one interviews regarding Handlin's conduct. Handlin was reinstated three months later, after which the alleged bullying, harassment and routine humiliation of Sony Music Australia staff continued; nine of the 10 interviewed executives left the company within four years.
Due to this, Lockhart called Sony Music's global headquarters' claim it only found out about Handlin's behaviour in 2021 "implausible", and called for the "global head office
obe held accountable for ignoring the welfare of its Australian staff for decades".
Personal life
Handlin married his wife Jan in 1977 and together they have six children.
Handlin has been a mentor of the Queensland
State of Origin series
The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons.
Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...
rugby league team since 2006.
Awards and achievements
Handlin has been honored with several awards for his work in the Australian entertainment industry.
{, class="wikitable"
, -
!Year
!Nominee
!Ceremony
!Award
!Result
!
, -
, 1996
, Denis Handlin
,
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
, CEO Special Recognition Award
,
,
, -
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...
, Denis Handlin
,
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are pres ...
,
Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian ...
,
,
, -
,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, Denis Handlin
,
APRA Awards (Australia)
The APRA Music Awards in Australia are annual awards to celebrate excellence in contemporary music, which honour the skills of member composers, songwriters, and publishers who have achieved outstanding success in sales and airplay performan ...
, Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music
,
,
, -
, 2012
, Denis Handlin
, Worldwide Radio Summit Industry Awards
, Label Executive of the Year – Major
,
,
, -
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, Denis Handlin
,
ARIA Music Awards
,
Icon Awards
,
,
, -
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, Denis Handlin
,
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are pres ...
,
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...
,
,
, -
, 2020
, Denis Handlin
,
Queensland Music Awards
, QMusic Honorary Award
,
,
, -
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handlin, Denis
1951 births
Businesspeople from Queensland
Officers of the Order of Australia
People educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace
Living people