Veteran media executive Peter Liguori takes over ad tech company VideoAmp as CEO despite 20% of staff laid off

Veteran entertainment executive Peter Liguori has taken the reins at ad tech company VideoAmp as CEO after 20% of its workforce was laid off in a restructuring.

Liguori, who was already a board member at VideoAmp, was previously CEO of Tribune Media and also held senior leadership roles at Fox Entertainment, FX and Discovery. He replaces Ross McCray, who founded VideoAmp in 2014 and is moving into a role as “active founder, board member and shareholder,” according to an official announcement.

VideoAmp is one of the new challengers to Nielsen, whose decades-long power in the measurement industry — the shaky but all-important glue of the $60 billion TV advertising market — has waned in recent years. Startups like VideoAmp are vying for legitimacy but spending heavily on management talent and technology amid budget cuts and viewership fragmentation.

VideoAmp has recently signed deals with Amazon, Disney, YouTube and Warner Bros. Discovery, Meta, NBCU, Paramount and other programmers. The company says its currency is valued by more than 1,000 advertisers and guaranteed at more than $1 billion by 2024.

In addition to Liguori’s new role, former Nielsen executive Peter Bradbury has joined VideoAmp in the new role of chief commercial and growth officer. The company also announced a number of other management hires and also said it would lay off around 20% of its workforce as part of the restructuring.

Tony Fagan and Josh Hudgins have been promoted to the positions of president, technology and strategy and chief product officer, respectively. Both will take on increased responsibilities alongside the rest of the C-suite, including CFO Paul Ross, Chief Marketing Officer Jenny Wall and Chief People Officer Marisa Peters, as well as Chief Data Officer Hari Sankar, who oversees revenue operations.

“The addition of Pete Bradbury to our team not only represents VideoAmp’s commitment to solidify our position as the new currency standard, but also demonstrates the transformation of our strategy to focus and serve the industry’s customer base with a respected and trusted industry leader, Liguori said. “Pete’s decades of advertising, measurement experience and deep industry connections will help us deliver successful solutions to the industry’s measurement needs. His proven track record of driving customer satisfaction and attracting top talent is a recipe for continued success and we are pleased to have him join the VideoAmp team at such a pivotal time in our history.”

McCray called stepping down from the company “an extremely difficult and emotional decision,” but one he had anticipated for a long time.