Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) today announced that it has appointed Wayne D. Thorsen, former Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of ADT Inc., to serve as SiriusXM’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective December 16, 2024.
In the newly-created role of COO, Thorsen will oversee SiriusXM’s product and technology functions and be responsible for aspects of the Company’s commercial activities, business development including automotive and streaming distribution arrangements, certain consumer marketing activities such as subscriber acquisition, and corporate strategy. He will report directly to SiriusXM’s Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Witz, and play an instrumental role in executing the Company’s updated strategic direction that was separately announced today. As the Company sharpens its focus on its core business, Thorsen will lead SiriusXM’s efforts to closely monitor the return on marketing and technology investments to drive greater operational efficiency and enhance the listener experience.
Thorsen most recently served at ADT Inc. where he led product management, engineering, business development, and several other key functions. His leadership was pivotal in accelerating the Company’s growth strategy by emphasizing its strategic differentiators and innovative offerings. Thorsen led the transformation of ADT’s technology teams culminating in the launch of the ADT+ platform, which included award-winning hardware and one of the highest-rated apps in the smart home and security category. Additionally, he spearheaded the recent successful rollout of Trusted Neighbor, the flagship product on the new platform. During his tenure at ADT, he redefined the product and solution portfolio, led ADT’s key partnerships, guided their shift into AI with partnerships with Google and Sierra, and helped drive operational efficiency throughout the company. He previously held executive positions at Google Inc., a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Social Finance, Inc., the predecessor of SoFi Technologies, Inc., Viacom, Inc., a multinational media and entertainment company, Telefónica Digital, the digital business unit of Telefónica, a global telecommunications company, and Microsoft, the multinational technology company.
“We are pleased to add Wayne to the SiriusXM team at this pivotal time for the Company,” said Jennifer Witz, Chief Executive Officer of SiriusXM. “Wayne is a seasoned leader who brings significant experience driving business development and innovation, and he is well-positioned to help guide the Company through this next chapter as we sharpen our focus on delivering meaningful results alongside greater efficiency. While at Google, where Wayne led business development for the devices and services division, Wayne was a wonderful partner for SiriusXM, and I look forward to working closely with him to drive SiriusXM forward.”
“As a long-time SiriusXM subscriber myself, I have always admired SiriusXM’s platform and its commitment to providing listeners with unmatched content. It is an honor to join this Company as it enters its next phase,” said Thorsen. “This is an important time for SiriusXM, and strong execution will be critical as the Company implements its new strategy. I’m excited to work alongside Jennifer and the rest of the SiriusXM leadership team to turn the company’s vision into results-driven, efficient action, and capture the opportunity ahead.”
The Company also disclosed today that Joseph Inzerillo has stepped down from his role as Chief Product and Technology Officer, effective immediately, to pursue other opportunities. Inzerillo spearheaded the transformation of SiriusXM’s tech platform and led the launch of the Company’s new streaming app.
About Wayne Thorsen
Thorsen served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of ADT Inc. since January 2023, where he was responsible for leading ADT’s product, engineering, innovation and business development teams. From May 2018 until January 2023, Thorsen served as Vice President, Devices and Services Business Development at Google, where he led partnerships for Nest, Pixel, Chromecast, Google Home, Fitbit, Google Labs, Google Fi, and the smart home ecosystem. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Partnerships at Social Finance, Inc. (SoFi) from 2017 to 2018. He has extensive experience in business development, strategic partnerships, product development, and marketing, including leadership roles at SoFi, Rune, Inc., Viacom, Telefónica Digital, BlueKai and Microsoft.
About Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
SiriusXM is the leading audio entertainment company in North America with a portfolio of audio businesses including its flagship subscription entertainment service SiriusXM; the ad-supported and premium music streaming services of Pandora; an expansive podcast network; and a suite of business and advertising solutions. Reaching a combined monthly audience of approximately 150 million listeners, SiriusXM offers a broad range of content for listeners everywhere they tune in with a diverse mix of live, on-demand, and curated programming across music, talk, news, and sports. For more about SiriusXM, please go to: www.siriusxm.com.
