René Houareau is Managing Director Legal & Policy at the German Music Industry Association (BVMI). The lawyer initially started at BVMI in 2008 as legal counsel, then took over as Head of Legal Affairs, and in mid-2014 also assumed responsibility for the association's political representation of interests as Head of Legal & Policy. Previously, he worked as Manager Business & Legal Affairs at Universal Music in Berlin, among other positions. René Houareau also holds an MBA from the University of Mannheim and Tongji University Shanghai. He also represents BVMI's interests in the German Cultural Council and the Music Archive of the German National Library, among others.