NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SiriusXM
today announced that Chief Executive Officer, James E. Meyer, intends to retire on
December 31, 2020. Upon Mr. Meyer's
retirement, Jennifer C. Witz,
President, Sales, Marketing and Operations, will become the
Company's new Chief Executive Officer.
Gregory B. Maffei, Chairman of
the Board of Directors of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. stated, "On
behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank Jim for his
outstanding service, helping to create the leader in audio
entertainment in North America.
During his tenure as CEO, SiriusXM has grown to become a
diversified audio entertainment provider that is poised to reach
more than 150 million people, the largest addressable digital audio
audience in North America. We are
a better company for his stewardship. We look forward to continuing
to work with him on the Board and to build on SiriusXM's strong
momentum."
Mr. Maffei continued, "Our Board of Directors is thrilled to
unanimously appoint Jennifer as the next CEO. With nearly two
decades of success at the Company, no one is better suited for this
position. Jennifer brings the thorough understanding of our
business from every angle. She has played a key role in
significantly growing SiriusXM's subscriber base. Jennifer will
lead the Company's strong executive team as it continues building
out its platforms and executes on its growth strategies."
"It has been a privilege to lead SiriusXM, and I am incredibly
proud of what we have achieved together over the last eight years,"
said Mr. Meyer. "This Company has never been in a better position.
We have transformed our business, growing SiriusXM and its
offerings, welcoming the team from Pandora through our game
changing combination and increasing our scale in podcasting with
Simplecast and the pending acquisition of Stitcher. Today, we
deliver the best content with a consumer reach that is unmatched in
audio entertainment in North
America. My decision to retire has long been in the works,
and now is the right time to begin this transition. I could not be
handing the reins over to a stronger leader than Jennifer. I know
firsthand how talented and innovative she is, and I believe she
will drive SiriusXM to new heights. This is a key time for
SiriusXM, and I look forward to working with Jennifer to ensure a
smooth transition as we execute on our near-term priorities."
Ms. Witz commented, "I am honored to take on the role of CEO and
lead SiriusXM at this exciting time. We have the best audio content
available anywhere and incredible growth platforms. At SiriusXM, we
are rolling out new programming, introducing new technology and
expanding our OEM relationships, while pursuing new avenues of
growth at Pandora and strengthening our position in the podcasting
space. It has been an extraordinary privilege working with Jim and
learning from him over the years. SiriusXM has tremendous
opportunities ahead. I look forward to working closely with
Scott Greenstein, Sean Sullivan and the rest of our talented
management team and our incredible employees to capture those
opportunities, drive growth and enhance stockholder value."
During Mr. Meyer's tenure as CEO, SiriusXM has grown
significantly. Highlights of his tenure include:
- Growing subscribers to record levels of 34.3 million as of
June 30, 2020. Following the
completion of the pending Stitcher transaction, SiriusXM will reach
150 million listeners across its combined properties;
- Driving powerful financial growth with expected revenues of
approximately $7.7 billion in 2020
compared to $3.4 billion in 2012,
expected EBITDA of $2.4 billion in
2020 compared to $920 million in 2012
and free cash flow approaching $1.6
billion in 2020 compared to $709
million in 2012;
- Returning more than $10 billion
of capital to stockholders;
- Completing the transformational acquisition of Pandora;
- Building scale in the fast-growing podcast segment with the
acquisition of Simplecast and the pending acquisition of Stitcher;
and
- Assembling the best content line-up in audio entertainment
including collaborating with leading musicians, entertainers and
journalists; launching new entertainment series; expanding sports
coverage; and curating dedicated artist-branded channels and
exclusive content.
Mr. Meyer will work closely over the coming months with Ms. Witz
to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.
Sean S. Sullivan Appointed Chief Financial Officer
The Company also announced today that Sean S. Sullivan has been appointed Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective October 26, 2020. Mr. Sullivan succeeds
David J. Frear who will be pursuing
other opportunities, effective immediately.
Mr. Meyer said, "Sean brings two-plus decades of financial and
operating experience, strong leadership abilities and an in-depth
understanding of the entertainment industry. We are thrilled he is
joining the team. I want to thank David for his many years of
dedication to the Company and excellent contributions to
SiriusXM."
Board of Directors Update
Following his retirement, Mr. Meyer will remain on SiriusXM's
Board of Directors and will serve as Vice Chairman. Upon assuming
the role of CEO, Ms. Witz will be appointed as a member of the
Board. George W. Bodenheimer also
announced today his decision to resign from the Board, effective
immediately.
Mr. Maffei concluded, "On behalf of the Board and management
team, we thank George for his leadership and guidance, and I am
grateful for the time we spent together on the Board. Although we
will miss George, our loss will be a great gain for the charitable
organizations George plans to focus his talents on."
About Jennifer C. Witz
Ms. Witz has been with SiriusXM for over 18 years, most recently
serving as President, Sales, Marketing and Operations of SiriusXM
since March 2019. Prior to that, she
served as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief
Marketing Officer from August 2017
until March 2019. In her time at the
Company, Ms. Witz has served in a variety of senior financial and
operating roles including Senior Vice President of Finance and Vice
President of Finance. Before joining SiriusXM, Ms. Witz was Vice
President of Planning and Development at Viacom Inc., a global
media company, and prior to that she was Vice President of Finance
and Corporate Development at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., an
entertainment company focused on the production and global
distribution of film and television content. She began her career
in the Investment Banking Department at Kidder, Peabody & Co Inc. Ms. Witz is a member of the
Board of Directors of LendingTree, Inc., a leading online
marketplace that connects consumers with financial products. Ms.
Witz received an MBA from Harvard Business
School and a BA from University of
Pennsylvania and BS in economics from the Wharton
School.
About Sean S. Sullivan
Mr. Sullivan has served as the Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer of AMC Networks Inc., a global
entertainment company, since June
2011. From September 2010 to
June 2011, he was the Chief Corporate
Officer of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, the predecessor of AMC
Networks Inc. and then a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.
Prior to that, Mr. Sullivan was Chief Financial Officer of HiT
Entertainment, a children's entertainment company, from 2009 to
2010. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Acushnet Holdings
Corp., a leader in the design, development, manufacturing and
distribution of golf products. Mr. Sullivan received an MBA from
Columbia University and a BBA in
accountancy from the University of Notre
Dame.
About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the leading audio
entertainment company in the U.S., and the premier programmer and
platform for subscription and digital advertising-supported audio
products. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest
ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S.
SiriusXM and Pandora together reach more than 100 million people
each month with their audio products. SiriusXM, through Sirius XM
Canada Holdings, Inc., also offers satellite radio and audio
entertainment in Canada. In
addition to its audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers
connected vehicle services to automakers. For more about SiriusXM,
please go to: www.siriusxm.com.
This communication contains "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about future financial and operating results, our plans,
objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future
operations, products and services; and other statements identified
by words such as "will likely result," "are expected to," "will
continue," "is anticipated," "estimated," "believe," "intend,"
"plan," "projection," "outlook" or words of similar meaning. Such
forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and
expectations of our management and are inherently subject to
significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and
contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally
beyond our control. Actual results and the timing of events may
differ materially from the results anticipated in these
forward-looking statements.
The following factors, among others, could cause actual
results and the timing of events to differ materially from the
anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the
forward-looking statements: the current coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic is adversely impacting our business; our
substantial competition that is likely to increase over time; our
efforts to attract and retain subscribers and listeners, or convert
listeners into subscribers, which may not be successful, and may
adversely affect our business; our Pandora ad-supported business
has suffered a loss of monthly active users, which may adversely
affect our Pandora business; privacy and data security laws and
regulations may hinder our ability to market our services, sell
advertising and impose legal liabilities; we engage in extensive
marketing efforts and the continued effectiveness of those efforts
are an important part of our business; consumer protection laws and
our failure to comply with them could damage our business; a
substantial number of our Sirius XM subscribers periodically cancel
their subscriptions and we cannot predict how successful we will be
at retaining customers; our ability to profitably attract and
retain subscribers to our Sirius XM service as our marketing
efforts reach more price-sensitive consumers is uncertain; our
failure to convince advertisers of the benefits of our Pandora
ad-supported service could harm our business; if we are unable to
maintain revenue growth from our advertising products, particularly
in mobile advertising, our results of operations will be adversely
affected; if we fail to accurately predict and play music, comedy
or other content that our Pandora listeners enjoy, we may fail to
retain existing and attract new listeners; if we fail to protect
the security of personal information about our customers, we could
be subject to costly government enforcement actions and private
litigation and our reputation could suffer; interruption or failure
of our information technology and communications systems could
impair the delivery of our service and harm our business; we rely
on third parties for the operation of our business, and the failure
of third parties to perform could adversely affect our business;
our business depends in part upon the auto industry; our Pandora
business depends in part upon consumer electronics manufacturers;
the market for music rights is changing and is subject to
significant uncertainties; our ability to offer interactive
features in our Pandora services depends upon maintaining licenses
with copyright owners; the rates we must pay for "mechanical
rights" to use musical works on our Pandora service have increased
substantially and these new rates may adversely affect our
business; failure of our satellites would significantly damage our
business; our Sirius XM service may experience harmful interference
from wireless operations; failure to comply with FCC requirements
could damage our business; economic conditions, including
advertising budgets and discretionary spending, may adversely
affect our business and operating results; if we are unable to
attract and retain qualified personnel, our business could be
harmed; we may not realize the benefits of acquisitions or other
strategic investments and initiatives, including the acquisition of
Pandora; our use of pre-1972 sound recordings on our Pandora
service could result in additional costs; we may from time to time
modify our business plan, and these changes could adversely affect
us and our financial condition; we have a significant amount of
indebtedness, and our debt contains certain covenants that restrict
our operations; our facilities could be damaged by natural
catastrophes or terrorist activities; the unfavorable outcome of
pending or future litigation could have an adverse impact on our
operations and financial condition; failure to protect our
intellectual property or actions by third parties to enforce their
intellectual property rights could substantially harm our business
and operating results; some of our services and technologies may
use "open source" software, which may restrict how we use or
distribute our services or require that we release the source code
subject to those licenses; rapid technological and industry changes
and new entrants could adversely impact our services; existing or
future laws and regulations could harm our business; we may be
exposed to liabilities that other entertainment service providers
would not customarily be subject to; our business and prospects
depend on the strength of our brands; we are a "controlled company"
within the meaning of the NASDAQ listing rules and, as a result,
qualify for, and rely on, exemptions from certain corporate
governance requirements; while we currently pay a quarterly cash
dividend to holders of our common stock, we may change our dividend
policy at any time; and our principal stockholder has significant
influence, including over actions requiring stockholder approval,
and its interests may differ from the interests of other holders of
our common stock. Additional factors that could cause our results
to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended June 30, 2020, which are filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the
SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). The information set forth
herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any
intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as
a result of developments occurring after the date of this
communication.
Source: SiriusXM
Contacts
Investors:
Hooper Stevens
212-901-6718
hooper.stevens@siriusxm.com
Media:
Patrick
Reilly
212-901-6646
patrick.reilly@siriusxm.com
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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.