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Affiliate Monitor Company-by-company Q2 results analysis
Catena Media Out with the old
New Catena Media chief executive Manuel Stan was probably already aware that his new job would entail him having to take the rough with the smooth . So he was likely not hugely fazed by having to present a disappointing set of numbers for his debut meeting with the analysts .
Indeed , Stan is not the only new face at the previous affiliate market leader , and leading off his presentation of the second quarter numbers he spoke about how his appointment was only one of four key personnel changes .
So , while he himself has only been in place since 1 July , he also has a new chief technology officer in Ed Midolo , who joined the business in April , new chief financial officer Mike Gerrow , who also joined during that month , and the previous interim CEO Pierre Cadena who has stepped into the role of chief operating officer .
Stan said the makeover will be complete by year-end , with the appointment of the fifth and final executive team member , a new general counsel , who at the time of going to press was still to be announced .
“ From a people perspective , the new organisational setup product base was a massive undertaking for the company , but it ’ s the right thing to do to position ourselves to focus on the right products ,” he said .
“ We have hired most of the new management team in the last three or four months , and we ’ ll complete that makeover by the end of the year . So , the key is to have the right people in place in the right roles and bring , again , that high motivation , high energy levels in the company .”
Alongside the personnel changes , Stan said Catena was also implementing a new productfocused operating model to replace the previous geographical focus . “ This will allow us to better focus on our key products and priorities ,” he said .
One of these is a move into the sub-affiliation space with the soft launch in Q2 of the new Mrktplays platform . “ This is a first step towards our goal to build a leading marketplace for the gaming industry ,” he promised .
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As with its rivals , Catena has also been hit by Google ’ s third-party content manoeuvrings . Stan said the Catena response had been to reevaluate and renegotiate its deals , “ including terminating
“ We have hired most of the new management team in the last three or four months , and we ’ ll complete that makeover by the end of the year ”
MANUEL STAN , CATENA MEDIA iGB Affiliate Monitor