MarketCast Hires Netflix Research Exec Zoe Friend

MarketCast
Zoë Friend (Image credit: MarketCast)

Analytics company MarketCast said it hired a top Netflix research executive, Zoë Friend, as corporate senior VP of customer research and insights, a new position.

Friend, who led Netflix’s content and marketing research practice for five years, will be part of MarketCast’s senior leadership team and report to CEO Jon Batter.

“Zoë’s experience building a high performing research team at one of the world’s most tech forward media companies will be invaluable as we continue to aggressively grow and transform our business,” said Batter. “Zoë brings the right balance of research acumen and client service expertise to our lineup, and we are thrilled that she has chosen MarketCast as the next chapter in her life and career.”

Reporting to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Friend grew her team to 40 researchers while at the streaming company. 

Before Netflix, she served as senior VP of research and strategy for Paramount.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with the MarketCast research team and seeing the incredible work they do firsthand as a longtime client,” said Friend. “MarketCast’s reputation as a research leader and their vision for transforming media and brand research through a combination of primary research, advanced data science and technology innovation will be game changing for creators, brands and marketers alike, and I look forward to helping shape and bring this vision to life.” 

MarketCast’s big-data research, analytics and data science fuels fandom for leading studios, entertainment platforms, sports and lifestyle brands.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.