Tom Conrad, Chief Technology Officer and EVP of Product at Pandora, announced today via a blog post that he will transition out of his full-time position in three months. He has been with Pandora for 10 years.
Conrad’s double role as technology/product head will be filled by two people going forward. Chris Martin, previously VP of Engineering, is promoted to CTO. Pandora is starting a search for a new Chief Product Officer.
Technology and product roles are often mashed together to a certain extent in online brands. It makes sense insofar as the product requires technology building. there is always crossover between the two realms — the product head has some tech chops, and the technology chief has some knowledge of user-experience needs on the front end. Combining the two roles in one person is efficient and streamlined, but doesn’t necessarily optimize leadership of the two specialties.
Steve Ginsberg, former VP of Technical Operations, is also getting bumped up to Chief Information Officer.