Kanopy, a streaming service which offer free shows and movies through your library, has named a new CEO. Today, the company announced that Kevin Sayar, who previously was SVP of ProQuest Books, will succeed Olivia Humphrey, who is relocating with her family back to her native Australia. Humphrey will remain as Kanopy’s Executive Chairman of the Board.
Sayar has an extensive background in the higher education industry. He joins Kanopy from ProQuest, a provider of content and software solutions for the global academic market. At ProQuest, Sayar spearheaded innovations that transformed how libraries and patrons discovered, acquired, accessed and utilized e-books. Under his leadership, ProQuest Books grew to over $200M in revenue and remains the market leader.
“I am honored to be named the second CEO in Kanopy’s history,” Sayar said. “Under Olivia’s leadership, Kanopy has grown from an ambitious dream into a critical digital media resource for library patrons worldwide. I look forward to working with the company’s talented team to further its impressive growth by delivering value that exceeds the expectations of our library customers, content partners, and users.”
Sayar’s appointment comes at a time for Kanopy, which has added more than 200 new library partners, after losing one of their biggest partners, New York Public Library, in July.
“It has been a great honor to serve as the CEO of Kanopy since founding the company 12 years ago and I am incredibly proud of everything our team has accomplished together, but this transition is about my family,” Humphrey said. “Kevin is the right leader to continue Kanopy’s rapid growth and he will be able to apply his significant experience working with libraries to deepen relationships with our partners.”