OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pandora (NYSE: P), the leading Internet radio service, today announced it will begin a process to identify a successor to the Company’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Joseph Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy, who has led the Company since July 2004, will continue in his current role until his successor is named, in order to ensure an orderly transition.
“As I near the start of my tenth year at the helm of Pandora, I am incredibly proud of the team and what we have accomplished in redefining radio. As part of our Board discussions of the road that lies ahead, I reached the conclusion and advised the Board that the time is right to begin a process to identify my successor,” said Pandora Chief Executive Officer Joe Kennedy. “There is a tremendous market opportunity ahead and I look forward to continuing to work with all the great people at Pandora to keep driving the business forward.”
During Mr. Kennedy’s stewardship, Pandora has:
- Created the world’s largest personalized Internet radio service, with over 67 million monthly active listeners.
- Become the largest radio station in almost every major U.S. market with over 8% of total U.S. radio listening.
- Built an extraordinary team, over 700 strong with a sales presence over 28 major markets, that delivered over 14 billion listener hours in fiscal 2013.
- Delivered total revenue of $427.1 million and mobile revenue of $255.9 million in fiscal 2013.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Joe for his leadership, dedication and innumerable contributions to Pandora,” said Robert Kavner, Pandora’s Lead Independent Director. “During his tenure, Joe and his management team created a terrific business from the ground up, and, through his stewardship during the formative stages of Internet radio, Pandora now leads with 70% market share. We appreciate his continued strong leadership and dedication to the Company through this process.”
“Over the last nine years I have enjoyed an extraordinary partnership with Joe, working with him to grow the Company and build an exceptional team,” said Tim Westergren, Pandora Founder and Chief Strategy Officer. “I look forward to continuing to work with Joe to achieve our goals for 2013 and to help assure a smooth leadership transition.”
The Board of Directors has formed a search committee and will engage a nationally-recognized search firm to help identify candidates as expeditiously as possible.
About Pandora
Pandora gives people music they love anytime, anywhere, through connected devices. Personalized stations launch instantly with the input of a single "seed" - a favorite artist, song or genre. The Music Genome Project®, a deeply detailed hand-built musical taxonomy, powers the personalization of Pandora® internet radio by using musicological "DNA" and constant listener feedback to craft personalized stations from a growing collection of more than one million tracks. Tens of millions of people in the U.S. turn on Pandora to hear music they love.
"Safe Harbor" Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Board’s search for a successor Chief Executive Officer, its leadership transition plan and its future market opportunity. These forward-looking statements are based on Pandora's current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may cause results, performance or achievement to materially differ from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company’s ability to identify and hire a highly qualified Chief Executive Officer and potential disruption to the Company’s operations and management that could result from the transition; the Company’s operation in an emerging market and its relatively new and evolving business model; the Company’s ability to increase its listener base and listener hours; its ability to attract and retain advertisers; its ability to generate additional revenue on a cost-effective basis; competitive factors; its ability to continue operating under existing laws and licensing regimes; its ability to establish and maintain relationships with makers of mobile devices, consumer electronic products and automobiles; the Company’s ability to manage its growth; its ability to continue to innovate and keep pace with changes in technology and its competitors; risks related to service interruptions or security breaches; and general economic conditions worldwide. Further information on these factors and other risks that may affect the Company’s business is included in filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from time to time, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Form 10-Q for the current quarter, particularly under the heading "Risk Factors.” These documents are available online from the SEC or on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at investor.pandora.com. Information on the Company’s website is not part of this release. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information currently available to the Company, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.