Rich Castillo is a British music executive, A&R and entrepreneur with more than 20 years’ experience across record labels, artist management, and music publishing.

His career has included senior A&R roles at some of the world’s leading music companies, including two years in Toronto leading A&R for Universal Music Canada, Sr. Director of A&R at Sony Music Publishing, and senior positions at Atlantic Records U.K. and EMI Records U.K., where he led A&R teams and helped oversee the operational and creative direction of the department.

Rich has built his career around identifying talent early and understanding where youth culture is moving. His signing and A&R credits include N-Dubz, Chase & Status, Jess Glynne, Young Adz, Stefflon Don, Tion Wayne, KSI, Mic Lowry, D-Block Europe, Pa Salieu and TMS.

Career highlights include helping deliver Tion Wayne & Russ Millions’ “Body” remix, the first drill record to reach No.1 on the U.K. Singles Chart. At EMI, Rich was also integral to the resurgence of Chase & Status, re-signing the duo in 2023 ahead of a run that included “Baddadan,” “Liquor & Cigarettes” and U.K. No.1 “Backbone.” His wider EMI work included projects involving Olivia Dean, Elton John, Sammy Virji, and The Libertines.

Today, Rich is building Lionbear Music Group and working with Chosen Music in developing and releasing a new generation of artists. Alongside Ammo Tunwar, he is also running an A&R Academy created to discover and develop future A&R talent from areas of the U.K. that have traditionally lacked access and opportunities within the music industry.

Rich is also the creator and host of The Hot Seat, a Lionbear Films podcast featuring influential music executives and exploring the people, decisions, and stories behind culturally and commercially significant music.

Across his career, Rich’s work has contributed to MOBO, JUNO and BRIT Award success, multiple Platinum albums and numerous U.K. No.1 and Top 10 records.