TORONTO – Long-time Rogers exec David Purdy has been named as Vice Media’s new chief international growth officer.
Purdy, who played a key role in the recent multiplatform partnership between Vice and Rogers, will work between Toronto and New York developing that partnership and growing other partnerships around the world to distribute Vice’s programming across linear, mobile, and OTT.
At Rogers, where he was most recently SVP for content and video product management, Purdy (pictured) helped to launch several Canadian linear channels, brought more than 100 international channels into the Canadian market, and led the launch of numerous new content products and services across mobile, digital and linear.
Purdy will initially be based out of Vice’s Toronto office working with Canadian managing director Ryan Archibald, and will report to co-presidents Andrew Creighton and James Schwab.
“Dave has been a leader at building and launching linear, digital, and mobile products at one of the leading media companies in North America”, said Creighton, in Thursday's announcement. “As Vice continues to expand, doing multiplatform deals all over the globe, Dave will bring his extensive knowledge across cable, broadband and wireless to expand company’s distribution model across all screens around the world.”
“I am very excited to join Andrew, James, and the great team at Vice”, added Purdy. “Vice is a world-class content creator with a unique voice for millennials everywhere, and to be able to add to its growth story – across platforms and territories – is a tremendous opportunity”.
Purdy's role at Rogers is being filled by Melani Griffith, who has been EVP at TV Everywhere provider Penthera in New York City for the last three years. According to her LinkedIn profile, Griffith spent six months with Stingray as VP corporate development before Penthera, and prior to that, was SVP programming and video services at cablecos Insight Communications and Time Warner Cable (which bought Insight in 2012).
