Digital media technology company Canela Media said it named Shampa Banerjee as its first chief product & technology officer and said she will head its new Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley.
Banerjee most recently was executive VP for ViacomCBS and chief product officer for its Pluto TV streaming unit. She will report to Canela founder and CEO Isabel Rafferty.
“If Shampa had a middle name, it would most certainly be visionary,” Rafferty said.
Also: Canela Launches Streaming Service for Hispanic Viewers
“Her wealth of knowledge and success in bringing game-changing products to market makes her the perfect fit to take Canela Media to the next level,” she said. “As innovation remains our primary focus, we look to Shampa’s deep experience at the intersection of technology and media to transform our business and our industry, and we are thrilled to have her lead our exceptionally talented team as we enter this next chapter.”
The Innovation Lab will be funded in part by the $32 million Canlea raised in February. The lab will experiment with technologies such as AR/VR, AI, machine learning, and Web 3.0 community-focused tools. Canela will use insights from the lab to develop immersive and engaging. digital media experiences.
“Consumers are discerning — they know what they want and they know where to find it,“ Banerjee said. “I am energized by Canela’s deliberate commitment to redefine digital media experiences for the Hispanic community. Our strategy to challenge our team to create products and services that meet and ultimately exceed the needs of this rapidly-growing, sophisticated audience is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Before Pluto, Banerjee was chief product officer for India’s Eros Digital. Before that, she was with Socialtext and Ziff Davis Media. She started her career with Netscape/AOL. ■
