Sony U.K. Chairman and CEO Jason Iley was honored at the 32nd Music Industry Trusts ceremony in London 11/4 in recognition of his three-decade career in music.

Iley, who is the longest-serving chairman in the British label's history, was feted with a star-studded onscreen tribute featuring such artists as Mariah Carey, Robbie Williams, Bono, P!nk, The Killers' Brandon Flowers, Mark Ronson and Bob Geldof.

Paloma Faith presented him with the award, and Ronson and Australian singer JACOTÉNE, Cat Burns and Jake Bugg performed. The event benefited music charities The BRIT Trust and Nordoff & Robbins.

Iley, who was made MBE by the Queen in 2020, told the packed room, “We're all in this business because we love music. Music shaped my life and childhood and that was down to my very special dad. We didn't have much when we were younger and my dad somehow managed to buy the best sound systems, whether in the house or the car, so I grew up endlessly listening to Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and U2, all of which I've been fortunate enough to work with since. If it wasn't for you, Dad, I would have never got into music.”

Iley acknowledged his colleagues, whom he called “the most brilliant people and the best mentors,” among them Rob Stringer, Lucian Grainge, Jay-Z “and too many artists to mention," continuing, “I'm especially grateful to Rob, who has been the constant throughout my career, as a friend and an ally and as someone who's always had my back.”

Iley (pictured with Stringer) has helped cultivate the careers of British acts like Calvin Harris, George Ezra, Rag’n’Bone Man, Central Cee and Myles Smith, as well as such international artists as Beyoncé, Adele, Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, SZA and Foo Fighters.

Under his leadership, Sony Music has launched initiatives to support a new generation of executives in the music industry, including a female-focused A&R academy and the landmark Childcare Support Scheme aimed at increasing the proportion of women in senior roles.

The company has also invested in mental-health provision, creating a new role for an in-house director of Artist & Employee Wellbeing and providing all employees with mandatory mental-health management training, in collaboration with leading mental-health charity Mind.

Photo: John Marshall/JM International