Longtime Twitch executive Cindy Charles dies at 69 in Netherlands accident
A groundbreaking New York City music executive for live-streaming service Twitch was killed in a horrific traffic accident in the Netherlands, according to reports.
Cindy Charles, the company’s head of music, was invited to speak at the Amsterdam Dance Event in the Dutch capital when she was run over by a garbage truck while crossing a street, the NL Times reported.
The publication did not immediately identify the victim but Charles’ death was confirmed by Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy confirmed on Friday. She was 69.
Charles had played an integral role in several major deals during her six years at Twitch, including a recent deal establishing it as the first platform for DJs to livestream legally, according to Variety.
Earlier this month, the digital-rights veteran led the team behind pop star Charli XCX’s event at Storm King in upstate New York.
“Anyone that uses music on Twitch owes a debt of gratitude to Cindy’s work,” Clancy wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “She always had a bright smile on her face even as she negotiated unprecedented music licensing agreements for Twitch including the recent DJ agreement.”
Charles joined Twitch – an interactive livestreaming service owned by Amazon – in 2018 as music partnerships and operations principal, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was promoted to head of music in 2022, according to her profile.
She had previously worked at Amazon for nearly four years, her profile said.
“Cindy had this magnetic presence – she was the light that filled every room, the laughter that broke through even the hardest moments, and the energy that kept us pushing forward when we needed it most,” Charles’ colleague Kira Karlstrom wrote in a post on Medium.
“She was the woman who never missed a call, accepted every lunch invitation, and made sure no email went unanswered.”
Charles was an advisor to the board of governors at the Recording Academy. She co-founded Women in Digital Media, a networking group of more than 1,500 female executives based in New York and San Francisco, and the SF chapter of She is the Music, a nonprofit that supports women in music careers.
Raised in Queens, Charles studied political science at Buffalo University before deciding to follow in her father’s footsteps to become an entertainment lawyer, according to Karlstrom.
She earned a degree from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Charlies is survived by her husband, Ricky Fishman, and her two sons.
