Whistle, which creates branded sports content for young audiences, named Michael Cohen as president, taking over day-to-day duties that had been handled by co-founder Jeff Urban.
Cohen continues as chief operations officer. Urban remains on the board of directors of the company, whose investors include Tegna, NBC Sports, Sky Sports, Liberty Global and Emil Capital, as well as multiple professional sports leagues.
In June, Aser made an equity investment in Whistle, leading a $28 million round of funding along with Liberty Media, Emil Capital, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrC.
John West continues as CEO.
“Michael is a valued leader on our team, and he has propelled our company to the forefront of a dynamic, rapidly evolving industry. “I’m consistently impressed by his ability to foster and drive high impact teams across our company, and I expect great things from him in his new role,” West said.
“We are thankful for the invaluable contributions Jeff has made to Whistle over the years,” West added. “While he’ll be greatly missed, we are pleased he will remain a member of the team on the board of directors and wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.”
Cohen joined Whistle as executive VP of finance and operations five year ago. He’s helped the company grow revenue and its social footprint, as well as diversifying from advertising and branded content into content licensing. He was also involved in the company’s expansion into Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“It’s a privilege to take on this expanded role in leading our team and partners to further our vision,” said Cohen. “I continue to be blown away by the innate talent and passion our team brings to the company every day, and I’m excited to do my part to lead and elevate my fellow team members.”
