The Chernin Group said it has appointed former Yahoo exec Mike Kerns to president of digital, where he will support TCG’s digital-focused investments and portfolio strategy and be tasked with heading up the group’s expansion into Northern California, which include plans for a new office in San Francisco.
Kerns, who will work closely with TCG CEO and chairman Peter Chernin and TCG president Jesse Jacobs, will also join the board of Otter Media, the online video joint venture formed by The Chernin Group and AT&T in April 2014 that has majority stakes in Fullscreen and Crunchyroll, and acquired Creativebug, a source for online video arts and crafts instruction. In addition to its stake in Otter Media, TCG's assets also include Chernin Entertainment, a majority stake in Hong Kong-based CA Media, along with strategic investments in Pandora, SoundCloud, Flipboard, Medium, Scopely, Doppler Labs and MiTu.
Kerns joins TCG from Yahoo where he most recently served as senior vice president of product: homepage and verticals. Prior to that, he co-founded and served as CEO of Citizen Sports, a maker of social and sports-related apps that was acquired by Yahoo acquisition in 2010. Kerns has also served as chief of staff at Steinberg & Moorad Sports Management, and began his career as an associate at Angel Investors, L.P.
“We have meaningfully accelerated TCG’s digital presence and sphere of investment activities over the past few years,” Chernin said, in a statement. “Mike will be a phenomenal addition to the team and will help us with our existing portfolio of businesses, as well as in rapidly expanding our investment endeavors. He has a proven, multi-disciplined track record which has become increasingly important to our company, current holdings and future growth.”
