TiVo Shares Drop As CEO Quits Less Than A Year After Taking The Helm

TiVo Corp., which is already reviewing its strategic options as a company, said its CEO made a “personal decision” to resign less than a year in the role.

Enrique Rodriguez is becoming chief technology officer at Liberty Global, a major cable operator in Europe and a longtime customer of TiVo’s. Raghu Rau, a board member at TiVo, will step in as interim CEO as a search gets under way. Rau, 69, has held many top exec posts on the tech end of the media business, including a stint as CEO of video software company SeaChange.

Shares in TiVo fell 4% for the day to close at $13.30. They have dropped about 37% over the past year as the time-shifting TV pioneer tries to adjust course in a media landscape that long ago subsumed its innovations.

“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Enrique for his leadership and we wish him the best in his next chapter,” said James Meyer, chairman of TiVo’s board. “We are fortunate to have a world-class leadership team in place and are pleased to have someone of Raghu’s caliber step in to lead the company.” Rau called it an “exciting time for TiVo” and said he is “eager to jump in.”

Rodriguez said his decision to leave “was not easy.” As to the state of TiVo, he said he expects the company’s performance through the second quarter of 2018, “including our announced profit improvement actions, to be ahead of our internal plan.”

TiVo said it would provide an update on its strategic review process next month during its second quarter earnings call.