Catena Media appoints permanent CEO
Interim CEO Henrik Persson Ekdahl chats to EGR about the firm’s newly-appointed successor Per Hellberg
Catena Media has hired Readly’s Per Hellberg as its new permanent CEO following the departure of Robert Andersson in October.
Hellberg and his family will move from Stockholm to Malta where he will take over from the firm’s interim CEO Henrik Persson Ekdahl in the autumn, before September 3.
Ekdahl will return to Catena’s board of directors as the company’s biggest shareholder, having interviewed almost 150 candidates for the CEO position.
Hellberg joins Catena from Swedish magazine subscription firm Readly, which has been described as the Netflix of magazines. The business charges customers £7.99 a month for unlimited magazine downloads via the Readly app.
Hellberg also has vast gaming industry experience, having been CEO of Nordic Gaming Group when it was acquired by Betsson in 2012.
Catena Media’s new CEO Per Hellberg
“We’ve had head-hunters working globally in London and the Nordics. We knew what we were looking for and those people are not easy to find,” Ekdahl told EGR.
“We needed to find a person who has been working truly digital in a global capacity and who understands lead generation business and how to drive traffic.
“I was fortunate enough to already know Per since 2010. I’ve had the feeling of negotiating against him as a competitor and he is a tough cookie.
“He is calm and collected and has worked across different workforces from New York to Asia. We need someone with that diverse background as we have more than 30 nationalities in the company,” he added.
Hellberg will oversee Catena Media’s strategic plan to reach €100m EBITDA by 2020 as the lead generation company continues its push into the financial services sector.
Hellberg said of his appointment: “Catena Media is a one-of-a-kind company with a compelling history, an almost unprecedented growth rate and vast potential.
“I am inspired by companies with a clear strategy for growth and by how I can further contribute to their success.
“I have spent a decade in that environment and this is a great opportunity to be able to continue the journey and to support Catena Media in its aggressive strategy for the future,” he added.