Imagine Communications Announces CEO Transition

Dallas, Tex., December 5, 2017 – Imagine Communications, a portfolio company of The Gores Group and a leader in empowering the media and entertainment industry through transformative technology innovation, today announced that Tom Cotney has been named CEO of the company, effective immediately. Current CEO Charlie Vogt is joining The Gores Group as a Senior Advisor to continue to drive M&A and business development activities at Imagine. The two executives will work closely to continue the momentum and growth at Imagine Communications while also ensuring a seamless leadership transition.

“Over the past four years, Imagine has transformed the media industry by becoming the first company to deliver on its vision of an all IP/cloud network for playout and master control,” said Alec Gores, founder, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group. “I want to acknowledge and personally thank Charlie for his leadership in driving this massive transformation and placing Imagine’s technology at the forefront of the industry. Sharing our vision of where the industry is heading, Tom is uniquely qualified to build on this momentum and I welcome him in his new role.”

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead Imagine to the next level,” said Mr. Cotney. “Business models in transformation have become the norm in almost every company today. I can’t thank Charlie and the team enough for building Imagine into one of the market leading, long-term players in this industry.”

Cotney has spent 20 of his 30-year career partnering, selling to and competing in the telecommunications and mobile technology industries. He served as General Manager of the Communications Sector at IBM Global Services and has been a CEO and board member for a number of privately held companies. Mr. Cotney will also join the board of directors of Imagine.

“Imagine Communications could not be better positioned than we are today to take market-share across the ad management, playout, networking and distribution markets, particularly as we continue to guide the industry transition to IP and the cloud,” said Vogt. “We are pacing to have our best quarter of the year, and Friday we signed a strategic Advertising Management System contract to accelerate the emerging ATSC 3.0 multi-services market. I look forward to supporting Tom Cotney is his new role in an advisory capacity at The Gores Group and believe he will be able to fuel Imagine’s continued expansion and innovation.”

Vogt has been a CEO and strategic leader across the telecommunications, broadcast and media sectors for 30 years – 16 years as a CEO. During that time, he has overseen the acquisition and integration of 15 companies.

“This transition underpins our long-term commitment to Imagine, and to the media and entertainment sector in general, as well as the confidence we have in Imagine to continue leading the industry in the transition to IP and cloud services from monetization to content distribution,” said Gores.