Canoe Ventures, the advanced television JV of the nation’s leading cable companies, announced that CEO David Verklin will be leaving the company at the end of the summer. Canoe also announced the appointment of Kathy Timko, currently Canoe’s COO, as interim CEO. Reportedly the Canoe board decided not to renew Verklin’s contract, which was nearing its end.
Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications and BrightHouse Networks — formed the company in 2008 to use set-top boxes to deliver new kinds interactive marketing opportunites.
Verklin was previously CEO of Aegis Media Americas.
In announcing the move, Canoe’s board member and President/COO of Time Warner Cable, Robert Marcus thanked Verklin for his leadership during Canoe’s start-up phase: “David’s passion for media and advertising is contagious. He and the team at Canoe have helped the industry to reach new levels of collaboration that support the growth of our business, the enhancement of services to our customers, and the advancement of new marketing solutions for television advertisers. The board remains committed to the significant business opportunities we are pursuing through Canoe. I speak for the entire board when I wish David well for the next phase of his distinguished career.”
Canoe’s board member and President of Comcast Cable, Neil Smit said, “Kathy’s experience managing and scaling high-tech organizations, including her track record driving marketplace adoption and creating new business revenue, positions her well for leading Canoe through the next phase of its development. The business skill Kathy has demonstrated at Canoe over the last two years has been pivotal in helping the industry’s national interactive television platform to surpass 20 million households and has led the company to its go-to-market phase. As Canoe expands its portfolio of ITV services and launches national dynamic ad insertion for Video On Demand, Kathy’s business acumen will be key to deeper penetration of Canoe’s solutions in the market.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Canoe has had some issues getting the industry to come together on a standard. It’s hard to do when Canoe’s members are all competitors. As well, private companies are out there like Backchannel Media, coming up with their own proprietary solutions. Cablevision, as well, has its own interactive advertising system in place.
