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Catena Media has appointed Jasleen Kals as VP of Product as part of its transition to a product-first operating model. This new role is an expansion to Catena’s current core executive team, which has been developed as part of turnaround and revenue growth efforts.
As was seen in the company’s Q1 2024 report, revenue was down 49% year-on-year, with segments such as North America sports betting being hit particularly hard, down 70%. Catena Interim CEO Pierre Cadena described the results as “unsatisfactory,” citing “stronger competition, tightened marketing spending by operators and challenging comparables with Q1 2023” as reasons for this decline.
Leading up to these results and following a similarly disappointing Q4, Catena has brought on several new executives, including a new CEO in Manuel Stan and Group CFO in Michael Gerrow.
Now, Kals has been brought on board, with a decade of product experience with her.
Kals first notable role was in 2012 as Product Manager – Websites for QuinStreet, leaving the role two years later to join Searchmetrics as its Senior Product Manager. In 2018 she left the company, becoming Head of Product at MarketMuse, before joining CafeMedia as Director of Product Management in January 2021.
Following this, Kals became the Executive Director, Digital Product Development & Strategy at TMZ, holding the role until she took on her latest position with Catena.
In the meantime, since 2022, Kals has acted as Co-Founder, Product & Technology at SYNQ.
On Kals hiring, Interim CEO Pierre Cadena said: “Jasleen has impressive experience in creating and building excellent products and we are delighted she is joining us. Her knowledge, leadership and drive will be central as we embed our new product-focused operating model across the organisation.
“The model will prioritise the development of our best-performing products and create superior user experiences as we position the business to deliver sustainable long-term growth. Jasleen will lead the evolution and growth of Catena Media’s portfolio of outstanding assets and brands to enable us to unlock their full potential.”
