Gogo Replaces CEO With Its Largest Shareholder
Photo Credit: Michael Small is out as Gogo's CEO. His replacement is investor and board member Oakleigh Thorne. Gogo
Skift Take
Something seems off about this. Yes, Gogo CEO Michael Small probably had to go. But shouldn't the company have chosen a new CEO with a background in telecommunications?
Gogo, the inflight internet provider, replaced its CEO on Monday with the head of a family investment fund that owns roughly 30 percent of the company and is its largest shareholder.
After markets closed Monday, Gogo said Oakleigh Thorne, a member of the company's board of directors and former chairman and CEO Chairman of eCollege.com, had taken over, effective immediately. Thorne leads Thorndale Farm LLC, a family office.
In a release, Gogo said CEO Michael Small, who had led it since 2010, had stepped down as part of a "mutual decision" with the board. Gogo, which had an IPO in 2011, has not had a profitable quarter as a public company, and last year its net loss was $172.0 million, up 38 percent from 2016. Revenue has generally been on an upward trajectory but Gogo has spent considerable sums on technology and on improving its market position outside its U.S. base.
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