Kanopy Streaming Service Hires Google Alums As CTO And Product Chief, Adds Orange County Engineering Office

Dade Hayes

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Kanopy, the streaming film service that is free for users through a network of library partnerships, has made two senior management hires and set an expansion plan in Orange County, CA.

Google veterans Dave Barney and Chase Rigby have joined the company as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product Officer, respectively. Both report to CEO Olivia Humphrey.

The company also said it will expand with a new engineering office in Orange County that will help Kanopy’s technology recruiting efforts.

While its model is fundamentally different than those of most streaming peers, Kanopy has made strides of late, adding 200 new library partners and opening a Denver office in recent months. Users of Kanopy get free access to the platform’s offerings, which include new and library titles from the Criterion Collection, A24, Paramount, PBS, Kino Lorber and others. The service is available on all major streaming devices, including iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and Roku. Similar to the positioning of free, ad-supported services like Pluto TV or Crackle, Kanopy presents itself as a budget-friendly (and ad-free) alternative to pay subscription services.

Barney will lead the new office in Orange County, while Rigby spearheads Kanopy’s rollout of new products and services from its San Francisco headquarters.

“The additions of Chase and Dave come at a time of accelerated growth and their respective track records in developing innovative products and leading effective teams will not only help scale Kanopy’s platform but attract premier talent in all of our regional markets,” Humphrey said in a press release.

Barney spent more than a decade at Google, where he led fulfillment efforts in Google’s global support organization. He oversaw the company’s TV attribution and marketing mix modeling after Google acquired Adometry in 2014. Prior to Google, Barney was CTO of Semantic Discovery.

“During my time at Google I experienced periods of explosive growth and diversification of the platform,” Barney said. “Joining Kanopy at this point in its own evolution has a similar feel as we learn more and more about our customers and partners.”

Rigby’s six years at Google included leading the Social Good team, heading up all charitable giving products across Search, Assistant, YouTube and Google Play. He was also an early part of Pokemon Go prior to Niantic Labs’ spinoff from Google.

“I jumped at the chance to join the company because I believe Kanopy is positioned very well in today’s crowded streaming market, offering an incredible alternative to existing streaming platforms that can be a drain on pocketbooks and productivity,” Rigby said. “I’m excited to shape the roadmap so we can continue helping libraries serve their communities beyond their branches and in turn help millions of people discover high-quality content that enriches their lives.”

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