ViacomCBS said it has named former Amazon executive Naveen Chopra EVP and chief financial officer, replacing Christina Spade, who will move into an advisory role at the company after its second quarter earnings results are released.
Chopra joins Viacom from Amazon, where he was CFO of its Devices and Services business. In his new role, Chopra will be responsible for ViacomCBS’s financial operations, including treasury, tax, accounting, investor relations, information security and real estate, as well as global corporate development and strategy. Chopra will report to ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish.
“Naveen is a talented leader who combines financial, strategic and operational expertise with hands-on experience growing innovative, consumer-focused businesses across the media and tech sector,” Bakish said in a press release. “His experience scaling and driving the financial strategies for growth businesses – including free ad-supported and subscription streaming, as well as with digital devices and services – will be instrumental as we continue to unlock the value of our assets.”
Prior to Amazon, Chopra spent two years as CFO of audio streaming service Pandora, serving for a period as its interim CEO. Chopra also was CFO at TiVo, where he led core strategy initiatives, including its sale to Rovi Corp. in 2016. Chopra also spent six years on the board of directors at Vonage Holdings, and is a member of the board of KQED San Francisco, one of the nation’s largest public media organizations.
“I am thrilled to join ViacomCBS at this exciting time,” said Chopra. “Since its merger, the company has gained strong momentum amidst a rapidly evolving landscape by leveraging its subscription and advertising businesses, diverse distribution channels, formidable library and strong content pipeline. I look forward to working closely with Bob and the team to apply my experiences across consumer products and services, streaming and digital advertising to help write the next chapter of this amazing company.”
Spade has spent more than two decades at Viacom, and led the company’s financial operations through the merger that created the company in 2019. Previously, she served for six years as EVP and CFO and Strategy for Showtime Networks, where she stewarded the implementation of key financial operational and reporting systems and helped scale Showtime’s streaming platform when it was launched in 2015.
“I am grateful to Chris for her many contributions to ViacomCBS, including her two decades at Showtime and CBS and the pivotal role she played in the integration of CBS and Viacom. I want to extend my deepest thanks to her for her leadership and counsel, and for helping to ensure a smooth transition,” Bakish said in the press release.
