MarketCast Group’s longtime chief executive officer Henry Shapiro will become chairman of the company while veteran media executive John Batter assumes the CEO role, MarketCast announced Thursday.
Batter was most recently CEO of Gracenote, the digital and data segment of Tribune Media Co. Gracenote became one of the world’s largest entertainment metadata services and technology companies prior to a sale of the business to Nielsen in 2017. He was previously CEO of M-GO, a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor; president of production for DreamWorks Animation; and a senior executive at Electronic Arts.
“I’m joining MarketCast Group as CEO at an exciting time,” said Batter. “Henry moves to the chairman role with the company in great shape as the preeminent platform for media and entertainment insights and analytics. Building on its deep entertainment industry experience, MarketCast Group has been successfully extending its reach to include additional customers and markets. We will continue to provide best-in-class service to our ever-expanding group of high-quality customers.”
“After nearly 20 years leading this extraordinary company, I am excited to dedicate my time to working with John to take the company to the next level as chairman,” said Shapiro, “and to pass day-to-day responsibilities to a talented and seasoned executive team. I am thrilled to welcome John to MarketCastGroup. He has the perfect mix of experience and skills for this phase of the company’s growth.”
Batter will be based at MarketCast Group headquarters in Los Angeles. MarketCast Group is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C.