Tech entrepreneur Olivia Humphrey is moving back to Perth after six years in San Francisco, where she has attracted new investors, top executives and a growing customer base to her video streaming business Kanopy.
In tandem with her relocation, Ms Humphrey has transitioned this week from chief executive to executive chairman of Kanopy, which was founded in Subiaco in 2007 as a DVD rental service for universities.
“It has been a great honour to serve as the CEO of Kanopy since founding the company 12 years ago and I am incredibly proud of everything our team has accomplished together, but this transition is about my family,” Ms Humphrey said.
In her new role, Ms Humphrey will focus on Kanopy’s international expansion.
She will be succeeded as chief executive by Kevin Sayar, who helped build e-books company ProQuest Books to more than $200 million in revenue.
Kanopy said Mr Sayar’s appointment comes at a time of prodigious growth and expansion, with the company adding more than 200 new library partners in the past three months.
“Under Olivia’s leadership, Kanopy has grown from an ambitious dream into a critical digital media resource for library patrons worldwide,” Mr Sayar said in a statement.
He is the third senior appointment in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Kanopy announced the recruitment of two experienced Google executives, with Dave Barney to be chief technology officer and Chase Rigby chief product officer.
These changes come 18 months after US venture capital fund L Squared Capital Partners announced it was investing in Kanopy.
Kanopy has assembled a catalogue with 30,000 award-winning documentaries and films, including independent movies and cinema classics, as well as life-long learning courses and children’s programming.
It is available at no cost to members of public libraries, along with students and staff at participating institutions.
Ms Humphrey said her successor would help to drive further growth.
“Kevin is the right leader to continue Kanopy’s rapid growth and he will be able to apply his significant experience working with libraries to deepen relationships with our partners,” she said.
