Mike Hopkins has been appointed CEO of online video service Hulu. Mr. Hopkins will be based at Hulu’s headquarters in Los Angeles.
Mr. Hopkins, a Hulu board director since 2011, has served as president of Distribution for Fox Networks Group, since 2008. Andy Forssell, who has served as acting CEO since March 2013, will be leaving the company.
This is the text of an email Mr. Hopkins sent out to Hulu employees earlier during the day:
Hello Hulu –
While I have been on the Hulu board for a few years and have worked with some of you before in that capacity, I am thrilled to be joining the Hulu team as the new CEO. The official announcement will be going out shortly, but I wanted to make sure to share the news directly with you all first.
I want to thank Andy Forssell for his incredible work and tremendous leadership. His imprint on the company is, and always will be, immeasurable.
I am really excited about my new role. You are a remarkable team. You have built a product and brand that has earned its place among the top tier of consumer technology companies. You have built a product and service that your customers (users, content owners, and advertisers) simply love.
People love Hulu because the product is fantastic. This is a testament to the engineering excellence and product development focus that is so much a part of the DNA here at Hulu. You continue to innovate every day. For these reasons, and so many others, I am proud to be a part of the next chapter for Hulu.
The fact is, through all the recent uncertainty not only have you kept this business together, but you’ve continued to deliver on every key performance metric. In fact, you are delivering one of the strongest years Hulu has ever seen: We expect revenues to be close to a billion dollars this year, and Hulu Plus subscribers continue to climb.
With the foundation you have built, the significant capital infusion of three quarters of a billion dollars, and our partners aligned and fully supportive of what we need to get it done, the sky is the limit for Hulu. I am looking forward to working with you all.
I can’t wait to get started and meet you all in person.
-Mike
[Image courtest: Hulu]
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