Six months after Viacom merged with CBS, ViacomCBS said it has hired an Amazon executive as its new chief financial officer.
Naveen Chopra, previously CFO of Amazon’s devices and services business, was appointed executive VP and CFO, effective Aug. 10. He will report to ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish.
He succeeds Christina Spade, who will transition into an advisory role after the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
“Naveen is a talented leader who combines financial, strategic and operational expertise with hands-on experience growing innovative, consumer-focused businesses across the media and tech sector,” said Bakish. “His experience scaling and driving the financial strategies for growth businesses – including free ad-supported and subscription streaming, as well as with digital devices and services – will be instrumental as we continue to unlock the value of our assets.”
Before joining Amazon, Chopra was CFO of Pandora. Previously he was CFO and interim CEO at TiVo and held posts at Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard and start ups like WebTV and Ofoto.
“I am thrilled to join ViacomCBS at this exciting time,” said Chopra. “Since its merger, the company has gained strong momentum amidst a rapidly evolving landscape by leveraging its subscription and advertising businesses, diverse distribution channels, formidable library and strong content pipeline. I look forward to working closely with Bob and the team to apply my experiences across consumer products and services, streaming and digital advertising to help write the next chapter of this amazing company.”
Spade had been CFO for CBS and for its Showtime Networks unit before that.
“I am grateful to Chris for her many contributions to ViacomCBS, including her two decades at Showtime and CBS and the pivotal role she played in the integration of CBS and Viacom,” Bakish said. “I want to extend my deepest thanks to her for her leadership and counsel, and for helping to ensure a smooth transition.”
