No, Richard Greenfield is not headed to Disney to become a special assistant to Bob Iger.
But the high-profile technology-media-telecom (TMT) analyst is leaving equity research company BTIG Research, along with fellow analysts Walter Piecyk and Brandon Ross to form a new, unnamed TMT venture.
The news was announced earlier this afternoon by BTIG, which said it will partner with the new company.
“We are excited to work with Rich, Walt and Brandon as their business takes shape in the coming weeks. Their team will produce innovative independent investment research and create a new media company that is expected to fully assess the disruptive forces across the technology, media and telecommunications industries,” said Steven Starker, co-founder of BTIG.
According to the announcement, the new company will "offer inventive ways of accessing intriguing TMT portfolio companies, both public and private, and will offer thematic research.”
BTIG said it plans to collaborate with the new firm on a variety of important strategic initiatives.
“This new venture will enable Rich, Walt and Brandon to be even more entrepreneurial, an attribute which has driven the success of BTIG since inception,” said Scott Kovalik, co-founder and CEO of BTIG. “Rich, Walt and Brandon have always pushed to provide unique and thematic views; while we will miss having them on our platform, we are happy to be aligning with their new efforts.”
On LinkedIn, connections to Greenfield were messaged that they should congratulate him on his new position, “TBD,” at “TBD.”
“We are looking forward to this next chapter and appreciate the support we have received from the BTIG leadership team and our BTIG family,” Greenfield said. “We are proud to have initiated TMT coverage at the firm nearly a decade ago, and we continue to believe in the quality of its research, products and the value it delivers to clients.”
Greenfield has achieved somewhat of a celebrity presence among TMT analysts, notably sparring at times with Disney, a company he has covered for years.
In 2016, he was the subject of a Michael Wolff takedown in The Hollywood Reporter headlined, “Michael Wolff on Digital Media's Favorite Analyst: Often Quoted ... and Often Wrong.”
