Catena eyes Erik Flinck as new chairman
Flinck currently serves as chairman of Swedish digital health start-up dr HUD. He would take the same role at Catena should the appointment be approved at the group’s AGM on 15 May.
Earlier in his career, Flinck had two spells working for strategic management business Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Between January 2015 and October 2023 at BCG, Flinck held several senior roles including managing director and senior partner. During his earlier spell, from March 2005 until November 2012, he was a principal for the consultancy.
In addition, he spent over two years as head of group strategy at engineering group Sandvik.
Other board changes being considered
Meanwhile, Catena has announced another proposed board appointment in Dan Castillo. An investor in the group since 2015, Castillo has previous experience of listed board work in Kotipizza.
Castillo also currently serves on the boards of five companies across different sectors. These include Quartr.com in the fintech market and Hope Studios in movie production.
In addition, the Catena nomination committee has put forward plans to reappoint four of its current board members. These include Øystein Engebretsen, Theodore Bergquist, Adam Krejcik and Sean Hurley.
Göran Blomberg, Esther Teixeira-Boucher and Austin Malcomb have declined re-election as board members. Therefore, should the appointment by approved at May’s AGM, the new-look Catena board would shrink from seven to six members.
A new era for Catena?
The proposed board changes come following the announcement last month that CEO Michael Daly has left the business.
Daly joined Catena in April 2018 as general manager for the US. He went on to serve as general manager for the Americas and president for North America, before becoming CEO in March 2021.
Daly’s exit came shortly after Catena published a disappointing set of results for the 2023 financial year. The group registered a sharp decline in revenue.
One major area of concerns was US revenue, which fell 21% to €67.1m (£57.5m/$72.7m). Some 80% of all revenue at Catena comes from the US, with the group active in 27 North America jurisdictions.
Group adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations fell by 47% to €25.4m, corresponding to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 33.0%.
On March 5 2024, Catena appointed Manuel Stan as the company’s new CEO. A veteran of almost 20 years in the industry, Stan spent 16 years at Kindred Group, where he led marketing teams and served as SVP North America.
Stan will lead Catena Media’s North American and global market operations from Las Vegas and will assume his position on 1 July 2024.