Who We Are

When Alexi Cory-Smith founded Bella Figura, her mission was to establish an artist-centric music company for the digital age. And that’s exactly what she has achieved, investing in a portfolio of rights from the likes of Guy Chambers, David Gray and Lil Peep – all supported by a team of passionate music rights management experts. It represents an entrepreneurial new journey for the lawyer and industry lifer, whose seven-year run as President at BMG UK saw annual revenue expand by 2000% to £120 million. A lifelong fan of the band, one of her career highlights was signing The Rolling Stones to a global publishing deal with BMG.

Neelesh Prabhu co-founded Bella Figura with Alexi Cory-Smith after leading BMG’s global investments division. A graduate from the London School of Economics and a Chartered Accountant of England and Wales, he stepped into the music business back in 2011. He was inspired by the range of immensely dedicated and talented people within that world, not only artists but those working behind the scenes too. He now aims to make a mark of his own upon the industry with Bella Figura. When he’s not completing catalogue valuations you might find him at the crease at Singapore Cricket Club, or spot him wearing a hat with a D on it – a tribute to his previous home in Delaware.

In his role as VP in M&A and Strategy, Louis Coussée is responsible for identifying portfolio and strategic growth opportunities for Bella Figura by applying his expertise in financial analysis to execute and manage catalogue acquisitions. After completing an LLB and an LLM in Law from KU Leuven, and then an MSc in Law and Finance from Oxford University, Louis spent four years in Technology Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley’s London office. At weekends he steps from desk to decks to DJ under the alias Good Stuff Carlos as a member of the party collective Planet Groove.

With over 8 years of experience in the data field and a role in spearheading data initiatives at Bella Figura Music, Tristan brings an extensive background in engineering and data analysis to the team. From designing data architectures to executing comprehensive technical solutions, he is the go-to expert for all matters related to data. Beyond his data expertise, Tristan has a passion for performance and has shared the stage with Green Day and once played a local BBC Live Lounge.

The youngest member of the Bella Figura team and our Label Coordinator, Michaela has everything it takes to have a big future in the music industry. Fluent in five languages, she graduated from Bristol University with a BA and then completed an MA at University College London. Obsessed with music, Michaela particularly loves samba and amassed quite a collection of vinyl while she was living in Brazil. She also DJs as part of the Loose Leaf Sound, you can check out her show on My Analogue Journal.

Ellie Kading brings a progressive, proactive approach to her position as Bella Figura’s Head of Copyright and Administration (Publishing). Specialising in copyright and licensing, her two-decade plus career has taken her across a variety of music companies, most notably BMG Music Publishing, the BBC and Sony / ATV. She also founded her own company, Perfectly Formed Songs, whose clients have included Tileyard Music, Beggars Banquet / 4AD and the late, legendary Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance catalogue. Throughout Ellie’s career, one thing has remained constant: her fandom for Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters.

Recently appointed as SVP, Creative, Billy Millar specialises in proactively creating new opportunities across sync, A&R, marketing and tech for the Bella Figura catalogue – and his ambition is to cement our creative team’s reputation as being the best within the industry. He brings ten years of experience to Bella Figura, having developed his expertise as he rose the ranks at BMG before taking on his first VP role at Hipgnosis. The very first gig he attended was just around the corner from our office: an incendiary double-bill of Slipknot and Korn at the much-missed Astoria.

The latest addition to the Bella Figura team, our new Head of Operations Hannah Overton has excelled at some of the most credible independent labels around. She spent a decade at XL Recordings across publishing and records where her key signings included Friendly Fires and Dizzee Rascal, before joining Secretly Group as Managing Director for Europe. Her achievements at Secretly included overseeing The War on Drugs rise from underground heroes to acclaimed mainstream success, Slowdive’s return, Bon Iver’s ‘22 A Millon’ and the development of Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Phoebe Bridgers and Shame. Her passion for music was fuelled by her teenage quest to find an original copy of Belle & Sebastian’s ‘Tigermilk’ album.