Global Eagle Entertainment Names New CEO

LOS ANGELES: Global Eagle Entertainment, the inflight entertainment and Internet company founded by former CBS and Sony exec Jeff Sagansky and former MGM chief Harry Sloan, has appointed Dave Davis as CEO and member of the board of directors.

Davis was previously the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of Global Eagle. He is taking over the CEO post from John LaValle, who will continue to work with the company as a consultant. Davis will report directly to the board. As part of the change, LaValle is stepping down from the board of directors. Davis will continue to serve as CFO until after the filing of the company’s quarterly report for Q2, at which time Mike Zemetra, currently the senior VP of finance and chief accounting officer, will be appointed acting CFO.

“I have worked closely with Dave in his various roles for over ten years  Given his airline industry experience and operational and financial leadership at GEE since its formation, Dave is ideally suited for this role,” commented Ed Shapiro, chairman of the board. “He is a proven leader with deep industry knowledge, business vision and the ability to foster collaboration among our talented team of employees across the world.  He has been instrumental in driving the formation of GEE and the subsequent integration of our acquisitions, and he has the skills to accelerate GEE’s innovation in the inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C) industry.”

“This is a very exciting time for GEE as we utilize our global footprint to offer airlines a groundbreaking combination of content, connectivity and digital media services,” said Davis. “In order to capitalize on the opportunity ahead of us, we will concentrate on executing our strategic plan to grow our international base of customers, fully integrate our operations and further strengthen and expand our product offering. With a clearly defined vision, best-in-class technology and exceptional management team, we can broaden our revenue streams while helping our airline partners monetize and attract passengers through a superior customer experience.”
 
“This change reflects GEE’s succession planning process following the consolidation of Row 44 AIA, and our two other recent content acquisitions into Global Eagle,” added Shapiro. “John was instrumental in the development of Row 44, the formation of GEE, and leadership during our first 18 months as a public company. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank him for his unwavering commitment and substantial contributions to the company in helping to establish Global Eagle as a leader in the IFE&C market.”
 
“Having been with GEE from the beginning, I’m proud of the company’s accomplishments and track record of growth, including having the largest deployment of Ku-band inflight connectivity systems around the world,” said LaValle. “I’ve been lucky to have worked with such a talented team at GEE for the past two years and believe the company is poised for continued success.”