Reed Hastings, the entrepreneur who turned the tides of media and sent video streaming surging into the mainstream, has stepped down as co-CEO of Netflix, the company he co-founded back in 1997.
Announcing the move via Netflix’s blog, Reed explains that he will be taking on the role of Executive Chairman, while Greg Peters, Chief Operating Officer, and Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, step up to the helm as co-CEOs.
Reed also states that plans for the succession had been in place for a number of years, with Ted first joining Reed as co-CEO back in 2020. Since then, greater responsibilities have been delegated to both Greg and Ted, and Reed and the board have decided that now is the right time to make the switch.
He comments, “We start 2023 with renewed momentum as a company and a clear path to reaccelerate our growth. I’m thrilled about Ted and Greg’s leadership, and their ability to make the next 25 years even better than the first.”
Last year brought a period of turbulence for the streaming giant, with a dramatic loss of subscribers, mass layoffs, and its first ever dip in revenue. The recent launch of an ad-supported tier, as well as integrated partnerships in its original series, may help the company steer back on course.
Global creator marketing agency, Billion Dollar Boy, has appointed Sophie Crowther as its European Director. Sophie brings eight years industry experience to the role, having worked as Senior Influencer Marketing Manager at MediaMonks, and Head of Talent at Brave Bison.
Leading a new Community Management division, Sophie will be enhancing BDB’s position in European markets, strengthening the company’s talent identification capabilities, agency and talent relationships, and unlocking new opportunities to optimise campaign collaborations.
Elsewhere in the creator economy, Sara Joy Madsen has joined Reach Agency as its new Vice President of Client Services. With over 17 years of industry experience, Sara is a certified ‘ad sales veteran’, and will be leading the agency’s accounts team to deliver an all-star client service to their vast portfolio of brands.
Over in the affiliate sphere, global network Awin has made two pivotal promotions. Ian Charlesworth has climbed the ladder from Regional Marketing Director of UK & Benelux to Vice President, Europe & APAC, and Rosalyn Berrisford, Client Partnerships Director, has stepped up to Regional Managing Director, UK & BNL.
Boston-based customer data platform BlueConic has a new CEO. Cory Munchbach, COO and President, has been promoted to CEO, after working at the company for eight years. Before joining BlueConic, Cory spent the bulk of her career as an analyst at Forrester.
In a similar shifting of CEOs, independent performance marketing agency SINE Digital has appointed Ben Bunce as Managing Director, while its founder James Dale moves to CEO of the newly-formed SINE Group.
Programmatic media partner MiQ has hired John Thomson as its Chief Revenue Officer of UK business. Formerly Commercial Director at Quantcast, John will oversee key relationships with strategic relationships to ensure top-line revenue for the UK market. The company has also appointed Clare Beddow as Head of Commercial Strategy for the UK business.
