Rovi appoints Thompson COO, focus on TiVo product integration

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Rovi Appoints Pete Thompson as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer Technology Industry Leader to Join September 6, 2016 August 31, 2016 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ: ROVI) today announced that Pete Thompson will join the company as executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective September 6, 2016. Reporting to Rovi’s president and CEO, Tom Carson, Mr. Thompson will be based in the TiVo office in San Jose to directly oversee the product integration activities of the combined companies after the closing of the acquisition of TiVo Inc. by Rovi. “As Rovi and TiVo prepare to join forces as one company, Silicon Valley will become an even greater focal point for our product businesses and organization, and the Board of Directors and I are extremely pleased that we’ll have a strong presence with Pete in the Bay Area,” said Mr. Carson. “Pete has a proven ability to accelerate product development and drive significant revenue growth inside technology organizations. Upon closing of the TiVo acquisition, Pete’s initial focus will be on integrating the companies’ best-of-breed technological and product capabilities to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities and synergies formed by the new organization.” “Pete’s skills, experience and deep knowledge of the industry make him a natural choice for this position, and I am excited he has decided to join our company. His product orientation and operational expertise will help further our momentum and commitment to increase our market impact and drive stockholder value,” added Mr. Carson. With more than 20 years of experience in building new businesses and product categories across a range of industries and technologies, Mr. Thompson has managed dozens of product launches. He also brings broad leadership experience to Rovi, having run global organizations of engineering, sales, marketing, operations, and customer support teams. At Ericsson, Mr. Thompson was senior vice president of the Mediaroom Business Group, where he was responsible for defining the future of home entertainment through the development of products that appealed to consumers, producers and carriers. He has also held a number of senior leadership positions at Microsoft, including corporate vice president, Microsoft Mediaroom; senior general manager, Xbox LIVE; and general manager, Microsoft Surface. Most recently, Mr. Thompson served as vice president, strategic partnerships at Sonos, where he built an organization to launch a developer platform for music services, music apps and home management providers. Earlier in his career, he was at T-Mobile as executive director, HotSpot and he served in several roles with increasing responsibility at HP. Additionally, Mr. Thompson has Board of Director experience serving on the Boards of Sigma Designs and SeaWell Networks, which was acquired by ARRIS. “I am enthusiastic about joining Rovi during this important time and collaborating with the senior leadership team to reinforce our focus on a strong product culture and executing with excellence,” said Mr. Thompson. “I couldn’t be more energized by the opportunity ahead to bring together unparalleled portfolios that enable traditional, over-the-top (OTT) and emerging providers to deliver compelling consumer experiences as we set the pace for innovation industry wide.” Concurrent with Mr. Thompson’s appointment, John Burke, executive vice president, will move into a strategic advisor role through the end of the year to provide a seamless transition and assist the company in the initial stages of integration and execution of its synergy plans. Mr. Burke is not able to relocate from the East Coast for personal reasons and has made the decision to leave Rovi. “Throughout his tenure, John and his team have been instrumental in building a strong foundation for our product offerings, and we are fortunate that John will be supporting the transition,” said Mr. Carson.

Sounds like they're indeed going to be partnering with an OTT "emerging provider".. Could it be Vue or DirecTV Now? Layer3? Hulu? Thoughts?