Hulu today announced a major shakeup to its executive team and a restructuring of its business to focus on subscriber journey, technology & products, content and advertising.
In at Hulu is Dan Phillips, former chief operating officer at TiVo. He’ll be serving as the company’s new chief technology officer. Hulu is also bringing on Jaya Kolhatkar, former senior vice president of global data and analytics platform for Walmart, to the newly created executive management role of chief data officer.
The company is also expanding Chief Marketing Officer Kelly Campbell's responsibilities and putting her in charge of the subscriber journey, which entails acquisition, engagement and retention; and viewer experience and research.
“As one of today’s top direct-to-consumer entertainment brands, led by technology, innovation and data, Hulu has an enormous opportunity to lead the media and advertising industries into the future,” said Hulu CEO Randy Freer in a statement. “By adding new expertise and capabilities to our executive ranks and creating greater alignment around our customers, we are positioning Hulu to grow more rapidly, innovate more quickly and connect consumers even more deeply with the content they love.”
In addition to the new hires and expanded roles, Hulu is also losing a few key executives. Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Distribution Tim Connolly and Chief Content Officer Joel Stillerman have decided to leave the company. And Ben Smith, senior vice president of experience, will retire from Hulu in July.
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Along with the executive lineup changes, Hulu is reorganizing its business. The newly combined Technology and Product organization will cover engineering, data center operations, network and broadcast operations center; information technology and program management; product management, user experience and product development.
Hulu is also reorganizing its content business into two core categories: acquired on-demand and live content partners, and the creative community for Hulu originals.
Hulu’s advertising business is staying as is, and its data business will be run by Kolhatkar.
“The combination of powerful content and deep consumer insights is what will define the future of media and advertising. With her years of experience managing, analyzing and governing data for many of the world’s largest companies, Jaya brings the strong leadership and expertise Hulu needs to deliver more meaningful experiences to consumers and more effective solutions to brands,” Freer said.