Naveen Chopra, the former TiVo exec who led the company through its merger with Rovi, has been appointed chief financial officer of online video service and discovery service Pandora.
Chopra, who takes on his new role Tuesday (Feb. 28), heads up Pandora’s Pandora’s finance, corporate development and strategy, investor relations, facilities and CIO functions, and reports to company founder and CEO Tim Westergren.
Chopra succeeds Mike Herring, who was Pandora’s CFO since March 2013, and assumed the role of president in March 2016, where he will continue to focus on growing Pandora’s ad and subscription businesses.
Notably, Pandora is integrated with several set-top platforms, including Comcast X1 boxes, certain Dish Network and DirecTV Receivers, Verizon Fios boxes, and TiVo-powered devices.
Chopra most recently served as interim CEO of TiVo and as the company’s CFO and SVP of corporate development and strategy. TiVo was acquired by Rovi last September, with the combined company carrying the TiVo name forward. Chopra, who joined TiVo in 2003, stayed on temporarily as an advisor after the Rovi acquisition closed.
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“After a thorough and thoughtful search process, we are thrilled to welcome Naveen aboard,” Westergren said, in a statement. “Naveen is a talented business leader whose deep knowledge and background in consumer-oriented technology companies make him the right choice as our new CFO.”
“Pandora fundamentally changed the way we listen to music and continues to lead the way in reshaping the future of music for listeners, music makers and advertisers,” added Chopra. “It’s an exciting time to join the team and a unique opportunity to combine my passion for world-class consumer services and strategic and operational experience to help guide Pandora’s growth and deliver shareholder value. I look forward to working closely with Tim, Mike and the entire Pandora team.”
Chopra holds bachelor degrees in computer science and economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Vonage Holdings Corp.
