Pandora Reinstates Co-Founder as CEO, Share Prices Fall

Music streaming company Pandora has reinstated its co-founder Tim Westergren as CEO today, following the departure of Brian McAndrews, who held the position for the last two and a half years. Westergren originally maintained the position from 2002-2004, and, according to Pandora's statement on the leadership change, played a leading role in developing Pandora's Music Genome Project database, which drives their listener-specific recommendation software. He acted as the company's chief strategy officer from 2004-2014, and has served on the company's board of directors since the beginning.

Shares in Pandora fell 10% today following the announcement of McAndrews' departure, according to the BBC. While he was in charge, the company devalued by over $5 billion, from $7.73 billon to $2.26 billon, Music Business Worldwide reported. Pandora was also recently reportedly in talks to sell itself.

"I am incredibly excited about the future of Pandora," Westergren said in a statement. "We're on the cusp of realizing an extraordinary vision: fundamentally changing the way listeners discover and enjoy music, and the way artists build and sustain their careers."

Will Glaser and Jon Kraft are the other two co-founders of Pandora, which they founded in 2000.

McAndrews also commented, saying, "I am honored to have been the CEO of Pandora for the past two and a half years, and I am proud of what I and our team of talented and highly passionate colleagues have achieved during this time. We have put in place a robust strategy to make Pandora the go-to source for fans and artists and position the company for long-term success in a highly dynamic space. With the team and strategy in place and execution underway, I am passing the baton on to Tim."

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