SXSW taps Heineken USA legal leader

SXSW taps Heineken USA legal leader

J Carlos Kuri joins the Texas festival's team as new general counsel

South by Southwest (SXSW), the company behind the annual music and media festival, has hired Heineken USA's chief legal officer J. Carlos Kuri to be its new general counsel.

Founded in 1987, SXSW is known for showcasing professionals and artists in the film, tech, music, education and culture sectors. It hopes to return to in-person events in March 2022, in Austin, Texas, in the United States.

Kuri succeeds the company's previous legal leader Heather VanDyke, who announced stepping down in August to start a family. She remains with the company in a legal advisory role until March 2021 to oversee the transition.

Kuri has over a decade of experience, having spent the majority of his legal career in a number of in-house roles at Red Bull, including three years as the first general counsel of the drink company's New York franchise. For over six years he managed a 28-strong legal team as general counsel and senior vice president in Santa Monica.

He joined Heineken's US arm in late 2019. Prior to that, Kuri served as an associate in private practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and O'Melveny & Myers.