Music streaming service Pandora will have a new President and CEO as of next month: former Dish streaming chief Roger Lynch.
According to Pandora, Lynch will also be named to the company’s board of directors alongside Snap Inc. Chairman Michael Lynton. Pandora’s interim CEO Naveen Chopra will resume his role as chief financial officer, the company notes.
Lynch has served as CEO of Sling TV at Dish since 2012, where he was responsible for the creation, launch, and growth of the skinny bundle streaming service. Prior to stepping into that role, Lynch was executive vice president of advanced technologies for both Dish and Echostar from 2009 to 2012, as well as CEO of Video Networks International from 2002 to 2009.
In its announcement, Pandora hails Lynch’s experience guiding “a number of companies through critical transformation periods” and working “with large content providers to effect business models that embrace technological changes in distribution.”
Lynch’s hire comes as Pandora seeks to boost its active user numbers, which have been dropping steadily over the past three years, and better compete with similar services like Spotify. As of the end of the second quarter 2017, Pandora reported 76 million active users compared to Spotify’s 140 million. Paid subscriptions to Pandora grew 24 percent year over year to 4.86 million in the second quarter, but that figure was still dwarfed by Spotify’s 50 million paid subscribers and Apple Music’s 27 million paid subscribers.
“Roger brings a stellar leadership reputation, a wealth of consumer experience, and a lifelong passion for music to Pandora – all of which are critical ingredients in the continued evolution of our company,” Pandora Chairman Roger Faxon commented on behalf of the board. “We are absolutely confident that Roger is the right leader for Pandora who can create value for shareholders by marrying Pandora’s numerous assets with the opportunities ahead. As I have said before, with ‘digital radio’ at the core of our business, and both ‘Plus’ and ‘Premium’ as new, integral parts of our arsenal, Pandora is now in an ideal position to leverage changing consumer behaviors to further expand and monetize our listening audience. We are very excited to welcome Roger as our CEO as we embark on our next chapter with renewed focus, a strong balance sheet, a strategic partnership with SiriusXM, and an incredible team of loyal and creative employees.”
Lynch will start his new role effective September 18.
