Today, Roku, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) announced that three senior executives have been named as presidents of the company’s media, devices, and consumer experience business areas.
Media industry veteran Charlie Collier will be joining Roku as President, Roku Media, effective in late October, based in New York. Under Collier’s leadership, Roku Media will reinforce Roku’s commitment to serving advertisers, content partners, and consumers across Roku’s market-leading streaming platform.
In addition, Mustafa Ozgen and Gidon Katz are being elevated from their current senior vice president roles at Roku. Ozgen will now serve as President, Devices, and Katz will now serve as President, Consumer Experience. Collier, Ozgen, and Katz will report to Anthony Wood, Roku Founder and CEO.
“As Roku grows internationally, these positions will help bring more focus to key areas of our business as the global shift to streaming continues,” said Anthony Wood, Founder and CEO, Roku. “Charlie, Mustafa, and Gidon bring extensive industry knowledge and leadership experience to Roku. I look forward to working with them and their teams as we continue to innovate and build our position as the #1 TV streaming platform in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico* and our overall global footprint.”
In his new role, Collier will oversee the growth and evolution of Roku Media globally, which includes ad sales and Roku’s ad platform business as well as content for Roku’s owned and operated channels, including The Roku Channel.
Collier brings over 25 years of experience in media business leadership and transformation. He currently serves as the CEO of FOX Entertainment Group, where he is responsible for driving the overall vision and business at FOX Entertainment. He oversees the FOX network, FOX Alternative Entertainment, and FOX Entertainment Studios. He also has helped lead several other business transformation initiatives, notably the acquisition of AVOD streaming service Tubi TV, the founding of Studio Ramsay Global, the launch of Blockchain Creative Labs, and the acquisitions of Bento Box Entertainment, the animation company behind “Bob’s Burgers,” and indie studio MarVista Entertainment. Previously, he held senior roles at AMC Network, Court TV, Oxygen, and A&E Networks. During his tenure at FOX and AMC, both networks experienced increases in key business metrics, including ad revenue and ratings, Emmy Award-winning programming, and expansion of their digital platforms.
Alison Levin, Vice President, Ad Revenue and Marketing Solutions; Louqman Parampath, Vice President, Ad Product; Mirjam Laux, Vice President, International Advertising and Content; and Rob Holmes, Vice President, Programming will report to Collier.
Collier will also collaborate on commercial strategy with Tedd Cittadine, Vice President, Content Partnerships, who continues to lead Roku’s relationships with third-party apps and streaming services, and Gil Fuchsberg, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships, to whom Cittadine will continue to report.
“There is a tremendous opportunity to further accelerate and evolve Roku’s business as the streaming platform built for advertising, and Charlie is the ideal person to help us capitalize on the moment,” said Wood. “He is a proven leader who brings vast experience, a history of evolving businesses, strong creative instincts, talent relationships, and a track record of driving revenue and growth. He will play an integral role in helping us achieve even greater success as a next-generation media company.”
“Roku is a pioneer in streaming television and has achieved scale and significant relationships with our partners that will continue to be unique and valuable at this pivotal time in the industry,” said Collier. “As a partner of Roku, I’ve seen firsthand the power and potential the platform provides advertisers, partners, content creators, and consumers. I’m eager to work with Roku’s talented team to continue to innovate, grow, and bring the company and its partners to the next level.”
Prior to joining FOX, Collier was President and General Manager of AMC, SundanceTV, and AMC Studios, overseeing the creative and business operations of all three divisions. While he was at AMC, the network and business transformed, growing all key metrics and scoring creatively with hits including the Emmy Award-winning “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” and “The Walking Dead.” Collier also held business and sales roles at Oxygen Media, A+E Networks, and TeleRep. Since 2019, Collier has been named to The Hollywood Reporter 100, the publication’s list of the most powerful people in entertainment. He is regularly featured in Variety’s edition of Variety500, an index of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry.
Gidon Katz, President, Consumer Experience, who joined Roku in 2022 as senior vice president of Consumer, leads Roku’s Consumer Experience team, overseeing product, customer journeys, editorial, customer marketing, payments, and merchandising. Prior to joining Roku, he was President of Direct to Consumer for NBCU, launching Peacock in the U.S. Before moving to the U.S., Gidon led Sky’s streaming service Now for six years, having previously launched Virgin Media’s VOD service.
Mustafa Ozgen, President, Devices, joined Roku in February 2019 as senior vice president and general manager of account acquisition, overseeing key programs like Roku TV, Roku Players, Roku Ready Soundbars, and more. Ozgen joined Roku from SmartKem, a producer of semiconductors used in flexible displays, where he served as CEO. Previously, he served as CEO of QD Vision, a nanotechnology materials company, which was acquired by Samsung. Earlier in his career, Ozgen held senior management and engineering roles at Sigma Designs, CSR, Zoran, Oak Technology, TeraLogic, and WindRiver Systems. He also served for seven years as an officer in the Turkish Navy.
