Pandora’s struggles have been well documented as the company has faced trouble competing with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify, and today the company has officially confirmed that founder Tim Westergren will step down as CEO. This move was first reported earlier this week, but Pandora today made it official.
In a statement, Pandora board member Roger Faxon outlined that the company has worked hard over recent weeks to “refocus and reinforce Pandora,” noting that the company feels that it is now in a position to “capture an increasing share” of the streaming music industry (via Bloomberg).
In the interim, CFO Naveen Chopra has been named CEO, but Pandora’s board of directors is actively searching for a permanent replacement. Jason Hirschhorn will fill Westergren’s spot on the board.
“As listeners continue to move from traditional terrestrial radio to more dynamic and flexible offerings, it is the board’s belief that the transition continues to present a massive opportunity and that Pandora is in an ideal position to capture an increasing share of this audience.”
Earlier this month, Pandora also announced that it would sell a 19 percent stake to Sirius, while it also sold its ticketing business Ticketfly for $200 million. Both of these deals give the cash-stricken company a boost, despite the fact that Ticketfly was originally acquired by Pandora for $335 million.
Westergren founded Pandora back in 2000 and the company has struggled to adapt to the market’s shift towards on-demand streaming music. Pandora launched its Apple Music competitor Pandora Premium earlier this year, but the service has failed to capture the interest of consumers. The company hopes that a new CEO will help it realign and refocus as it moves forward.
