Westergren Returns To Lead Pandora

(RTTNews) - Shares of Pandora Media Inc. (P) fell in Monday's trading after the Internet radio service said that Chief Executive Officer Brian McAndrews is leaving the company and will be replaced by the company's founder Tim Westergren with immediate effect.

Westergren said, "We are pursuing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a massive, vibrant music marketplace. We have the audience, the technology infrastructure, the monetization engine and most importantly the right team with the passion and commitment to do it."

Westergren led the development of Pandora's Music Genome Project in the early 2000s. He has been deeply involved in the company's growth strategy and evolution.

Pandora also announced other management changes and a new management structure, saying that the changes are intended to accelerate its growth strategy.

The changes come as the company grapples with a decline in users and lower revenues, even as on-demand streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have expanded their customer base during the same period.

Mike Herring has been named as president and CFO. He will drive monetization of Pandora's core businesses.

Sara Clemens is the new chief operating officer. Her responsibilities include music makers, Ticketfly, international, human resources and corporate development.

Pandora's chief product officer Chris Phillips will be responsible for product, engineering and marketing. He will take on end-to-end product development and delivery.

McAndrews is leaving the company after two and a half years at its helm. Current independent board member Jim Feuille will succeed McAndrews as chairman of the board.

Westergren has served as Pandora's chief creative officer and treasurer from February 2000 to May 2002, as CEO and president from May 2002 to July 2004, and as chief strategy officer from July 2004 to February 2014. He has also served on Pandora's board of directors from the company's inception.

Pandora also reaffirmed its previous forecast for revenue and adjusted EBITDA today. The company expects to come in at the high end range of its revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for the quarter, and reaffirmed its 2016 full year targets.

P is trading at $9.94, down $0.99 or 9.03 percent on a volume of 8.68 million shares.