An Ex-Netflix Executive Quietly Joined Roku’s Board Ahead of Its IPO Announcement
Netflix’s long-time chief product officer Neil Hunt, who left the company in July after 18 years there, has joined the board of Roku, the streaming video device maker that filed in an initial public offering on Friday.
Hunt’s new position at Roku was included in an initial public offering that the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents. Roku, which has benefited from a growing number of cord-cutting cable subscribers ditching pay television in lieu of “over-the-top” streaming services, wants to raise $100 million, according to the SEC filing. The stock will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol ROKU.
Netflix, the online streaming video subscription service, announced in April that Hunt would be leaving the company. Greg Peters, who led the company’s international development team, took over as chief product officer at Netflix.
Hunt joined Roku’s board in August. He has also been a non-executive member of Logitech International’s board since 2010.
The board appointment comes at an auspicious time for Roku. The company, which has historically relied on sales of its popular Internet set-top devices to drive revenue, is trying to to diversify its business.
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Hunt was selected to serve on the board of directors because of his extensive experience in the streaming media technology industry, as well as his prior service on a public company board, Roku says in its IPO. Hunt’s tenure at Netflix included the company’s shift from DVD-by-mail service to a streaming video provider.
The company, founded by Anthony Wood in 2002, has deep ties to Netflix. He served as vice president of Internet TV at Netflix from April 2007 to January 2008, and Roku’s devices were the first set top boxes to be able to stream Netflix videos.
Netflix accounted for about one-third of all hours streamed on the Roku platform in the first six months ended June 30, according to the IPO filing.
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