Synacor COO Departs

More changes to the executive ranks at Syancor were in play last week as the company announced Tuesday (September 23) that COO Scott Bailey is leaving the TV Everywhere authentication and Web portal services company effective Sept. 30, 2014, to “pursue other interests.”

In announcing the departure, Synacor did not identify a temporary or permanent replacement for Bailey, who has served as COO since the fall of 2010, and "played a significant role advancing the business, building new products and helping transition Synacor from a private to public company." Synacor went public in February 2012.

Update: A company official said Sunday (September 28) that Synacor does not intend to replace Scott Bailey, noting that his direct reports now report to Synacor's new  CEO, Himesh Bhise. Bhise, most recently with Comcast, was named CEO of the Web portal developer and TV Everywhere technology company on August 4, succeeding longtime CEO Ron Frankel, who also resigned from the Synacor board in late August.

Recent changes at Synacor are coming coincidentally as two dissident investors – JEC Capital and Ratio Capital – that together own almost 10% of Synacor’s common stock, continue to push for the resignation of Synacor chairman Jordon Levy and have urged Synacor’s board to seek a sale. Synacor has since instead adopted a shareholder rights plan that guards against potential attempts to seize control of the company and has instead pushed ahead on a growth plan that aims to keep the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company autonomous.