Dej Mahoney
Born
Ayodeji Mahoney

London, England
NationalityBritish
EducationEpsom College
Alma materEmmanuel College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)Legal and business consultant in entertainment and related sectors
Parent(s)Florence Mahoney and Dr John Mahoney
RelativesLenrie Peters (uncle)
Websitewww.allourbusiness.com

Dej Mahoney, born Ayodeji Mahoney, is a British legal and business consultant in the entertainment and related sectors, with more than 30 years' experience within the music and media industries.[1] His career has encompassed being an entertainment lawyer and a producer, former Vice-President of Business Affairs at Sony Music,[2] as well as founding director since 2001 of London-based organisation All Our Business (AOB). In 2020 he was appointed non-executive chair of the production music company West One Music Group.

Biography

Family background and education

Mahoney was born in London of Gambian Creole parentage, one of the three sons of Florence Mahoney and Dr John Mahoney.[3] He was given the name Ayodeji, meaning "double joy", because he was born in the same month that his mother completed her PhD in African history, becoming the first Gambian woman to obtain a doctorate, which she received from the School Oriental African Studies, University of London, in 1963.[4][5] His father, Dr John Andrew Mahoney (1919–2012), was one of the earliest Gambian surgeons trained in the UK in the 1940s, studying medicine at the University of London, where he qualified as a surgeon.[6]

From 1977 to 1982, Dej Mahoney attended Epsom College, an English boarding-school in Surrey, where he became the first Head of School of African heritage.[7][8] One of his classmates at Epsom was television presenter and journalist Jeremy Vine, who has spoken of re-connecting with Mahoney in recent years.[9][10] Mahoney went on to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and qualified at the Bar as a Harmsworth Award winner.[11] He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1986.[12]

Career

Mahoney was Vice President of Business Affairs and New Media Development at Sony Music for 13 years,[11] leaving in 2001 to work on his own projects.[13]

He was Secretary of the Arts Council's African and Caribbean Music Circuit, and was a visiting lecturer on the Commercial Music degree course at the University of Westminster,[14] and a contributing author of Music and Digitisation (International Association of Entertainment Lawyers), presented at the Midem music festival in Cannes, 2000.[12] Other appointments include being a Member of the Mayor's Creative Commission for London in 2002.[12]

Since 2001 he has been founding director of AOB (All Our Business), primarily a legal and business consultancy in entertainment, fashion, leisure and sport,[8] working with a wide range of clients.[15]

Mahoney was the lead producer of the original musical I Dream, based on the life of the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., written and composed by Douglas Tappin and directed by Jasmine Guy,[16] which premiered in 2010 at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia.[17][18][19][20]

In 2012 Mahoney was appointed a Trustee of the BRIT School, where he chairs the school's Governance Committee,[14] and since 2016 he has been on the Governing Board of Epsom College.[21][22] In 2018, he was seconded to the senior management team of Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, and he was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of West One Music Group in 2020.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Stassen, Murray (24 November 2020). "Dej Mahoney Named Non-Executive Chairman At West One Music Group". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ^ "The Third Pearl (Positive Presence)". APG. 25 October 2017.
  3. ^ "Dr Florence Mahoney". 10 October 2008. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  4. ^ "'Gambia Studies' by Dr Florence Mahoney". St Hilda's College, University of Oxford. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  5. ^ Pamela Roberts, "Florence Mahoney, 1929–present, St Hilda's College | Historian and author", in Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University's Black Scholars, Oxford: Signal Books, 2013, pp. 89–90. 2014 digital version by Andrews UK Limited.
  6. ^ Ceesay, Hassoum (7 February 2012). "Tribute - Dr John Andrew Mahoney (1919-2012) Gambian surgeon, health administrator and international civil servant". The Point. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Guest speaker at Epsom College's Prize-Giving Day". AOB. 5 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Works in progress" (PDF). Phoenix. Epsom College (16): 3. Autumn 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Dej with former classmate and broadcaster, Jeremy Vine". AOB. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  10. ^ "15. Jeremy and Dej". The Friendship File (Podcast). 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Prize Giving 2016". Epsom College. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Dej Mahoney". City Showcase. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  13. ^ Masson, Gordon (10 February 2001). "Sony U.K.'s Chairman Stringer Begins Shaping Executive Team". Billboard. p. 55. Retrieved 10 February 2001.
  14. ^ a b "Déj Mahoney – Director". All Our Business. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Brands & Associates". All Our Business. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  16. ^ "I Dream - The New Musical - Official Rehearsal Trailer". YouTube. 1 July 2010.
  17. ^ "The Life Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Set For The Atlanta Stage". Minority news. BlackRadioNetwork.com.
  18. ^ "I Dream Takes the Stage in Atlanta 7/9–31 at Woodruff Arts Center". BroadwayWorld. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  19. ^ Alina. "An R&B opera honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. kicks off Black History Month". Opera Carolina. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  20. ^ "'I Dream' New Musical Drama Inspired by the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Opens to Rapturous Applause from Audiences". Cision. PRWeb. 22 July 2010.
  21. ^ "Governor's Biographies". The BRIT School. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  22. ^ "Board of Governors". Epsom College. Retrieved 30 November 2020.

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