Airbeem names Thorsten Sauer as executive chairman

OTT content distribution platform Airbeem has named former Ericsson executive Thorsten Sauer as executive chairman.

Thorsten Sauer

Sauer previously served as president of Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services, now known as Red Bee Media. His time at the helm saw the acquisition of Technicolor’s Broadcast Services division in 2012, Red Bee Media in 2014 and FYI Television in 2016. In February, OTT TV technology provider Xstream has named Sauer to its board.

Airbeem works with media companies, sports brands, broadcasters and content owners to create their own online video channels. The company provides off-the-shelf solutions to enable media owners to create their own OTT channel.

Airbeem recently secured a Series A funding round led by Edge Investment to enable it to scale its product R&D sales and marketing and customer success teams worldwide.

Steve Hardman, Airbeem CEO, said: “The appointment of Thorsten to our board comes at a time when we are investing heavily in sales and marketing to significantly grow the business. We believe we have a disruptive technology approach to video experience and OTT distribution for the direct to consumer market, providing premier content owners innovative monetisation tools to grow their channels and deliver their content to audiences with a tailored, enhanced user experience and a significant different commercial approach. Thorsten’s appointment brings valuable industry experience and vision to help us shape the vision of our OTT platform for the middle market.”

Sauer said: “Consumers habits prove the future of TV is over the top. I look forward to bringing my industry knowledge to further help Airbeem enable content owners to launch direct to consumer OTT channels around the world and help drive global growth of the company.”