Dive Brief:

• Sirius XM Holdings promoted its long-time controller,Thomas D. Barry, 56, to serve as CFO and executive vice president, replacing the outgoing Sean S. Sullivan, effective April 28, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday. The company believes it reaches a combined monthly audience of about 150 million listeners, according to its fiscal year 2022 10-K filing. 
• The New York City-based satellite radio company said Sullivan, who joined the firm as CFO in October 2020 after previously serving as CFO of AMC Networks, informed Sirius Monday he was resigning to pursue “another opportunity at a publicly traded company outside the industry,” according to a company release.
• The leadership change comes just under a month after the broadcast company announced it had reduced its workforce by 8% or 475 roles, according to a March 6 filing. On Tuesday, the company reaffirmed its full year 2023 financial guidance and added that the were no disagreements between the company and Sullivan regarding operations, policies or practices. 

Dive Insight:

Sirius XM offers programming ranging from music to sports, news and talk shows hosted by such personalities as shock jock Howard Stern. 

At the time of the layoffs last month, Sirius CEO Jennifer Witz said in a press release the company was “entering into a new phase,” citing investments that the company was making in the business this year as well as the current “uncertain economic environment.” In planning for this year, the company sought to identify opportunities as well areas where discretionary spending could be limited to miminize the need for staff cuts.    

“We streamlined our non-headcount costs by reducing content and marketing spend, decreasing our real estate footprint, and most recently, implementing tighter restrictions in our travel and entertainment policy. However, today’s decision to reduce our workforce was required in order for us to maintain a sustainably profitable company,” Witz stated in the March release. 

Barry, a CPA who began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, has served as the company’s senior vice president and controller since 2009 and also holds the role of chief accounting officer. Before joining Sirius, he was vice president and controller for Readers Digest, the owner of the family magazine of the same name. He has also held leadership roles at Xerox Engineering Systems, a susbisidary of Xerox, and Avon Products, according to the filing. 

Under an agreement with a Sirius XM subsidiary, Barry’s compensation will include an annual base salary of $800,000, according to the SEC filing.