BMI's C-suite continues to grow with his appointment Tom Kershaw as chief technology officer and Justin Rode as chief transformation officer. The respective CTOs, both new hires with over 40 years of experience between them, will report to BMI's President and CEO Mike O'Neill.
Kershaw joins from travel retail platform Travelport, where he served as head of product and technology for three years. Prior to that, he co-founded the open source software organization Prebid.org and held executive positions at Magnite, Google, Ericsson and VERISIGN, among others.
O'Neill said Kershaw will lead BMI's modernization efforts and work to “manage the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence and create new ways for affiliates and licensing partners to enhance their BMI experience through of technology”.
Rohde joins BMI from Xplor Technologies, a financial services company where he held dual roles as chief revenue officer and chief transformation officer. Prior to Xplor, he led product development at Integramed America and worked in strategy consulting at Bain & Company.
O'Neill called the time “absolutely right for our company to add the position of Chief Transformation Officer as we continue to accelerate our plan to maximize the rights and improve the services we provide to our creative community.”
BMI, acquired earlier this year by New Mountain Capital for an undisclosed sum, was founded as a nonprofit in 1939 by a group of radio broadcasters as an alternative to ASCAP and converted to a for-profit model in 2022.
“Tom and Justin have the experience and leadership qualities that allow us to strengthen and increase the value we provide to our songwriters, composers and publishers,” said O'Neill. “Working with our team, they will be instrumental as we implement key elements of our strategic growth plan to continue to grow distribution, advance our technology and customer service, and seek new revenue streams for our affiliates.”
