Exterion Media, the new name for CBS Outdoor outside its home territory of the US, has appointed former Telefonica boss Shaun Gregory (left) as its new CEO.
Which is intriguing for a number of reasons, not least because Gregory was appointed a non-exec director of indie UK rival Ocean Outdoor (best-known for its iMax site on London’s South Bank) back in October 2012.
Might a deal between Exterion and Ocean, which is backed by Lloyds Development Capital, now be on the cards? Ocean Outdoor is led by former CBS execs Tim Bleakley and Tom Goddard.
Gregory has been managing director of Telefonica Digital’s global ad business since 2009 and is also non-exec chairman of mobile business Weve and a vice-chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association, so he knows his way around these things.
Exterion is now owned by Platinum Equity. CBS Outdoor in the US has turned itself into a REIT (real estate investment trust), mainly for tax reasons.
Former head of Telefonica’s Global digital ad business? Really?And how big was that then?How much did it grow under this chaps tenure and where was it heading? What do they even do? (Much the same question could be asked of WEVE btw-the digital sector’s Tower of Babel and doomed to fail as a result).
Maybe that’s why he’s minded to bail..Undoubtedly a lucrative move but surely a risky and potentially short term one for if Exterion fail to retain the London Underground contract, and on much better terms than the deal that sank its predecessor incarnation, the game is over.
Best of luck to the ex-CBS fellah’s steering Ocean.If they can pull off another easy pay day before the digital bubble bursts by virtue of their association with the Telefonica fellah then hats off to them.