Scooter Braun is now reportedly the sole CEO of HYBE America, the US division of South Korean entertainment giant HYBE.
According to a report by Variety, Braun no longer shares the CEO title with veteran HYBE executive Lenzo Yoon. Yoon first joined HYBE (then Big Hit Entertainment) in 2010 as head of strategic planning, before becoming global CEO in 2020 and co-CEO of HYBE America in 2021. HYBE has yet to comment on Yoon’s current role in the company at the time of publication.
Through the several labels under it – including Big Hit Music, Pledis Entertainment, Source Music and ADOR – HYBE is home to a slew of K-pop acts including BTS, Tomorrow X Together, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, Seventeen and more.
Braun joined HYBE in 2021 through the entertainment company’s merger with Ithaca Holdings, which managed the likes of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, among others. As part of the deal, HYBE America gained complete ownership of Ithaca Holdings and its affiliates, while Braun joined the board of HYBE and retained his CEO title.
According to a report from The Korea Herald at the time, HYBE announced that Braun would be overseeing HYBE America’s competitiveness in the stateside market, while Yoon was in charge of “localizing the K-pop business model in the U.S. music industry.”
Meanwhile, HYBE Labels is currently holding on-site auditions with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records for a new girl group. Both labels have held in-person auditions in several Japanese cities, and are set to hold auditions in London, Seoul and Busan later this month.
This marks HYBE and Geffen Records’ second round of auditions for a new girl group. The labels had previously opened up online auditions, along with a series of on-site auditions in the US from March to April 2022.