Less than a year after its sale from IBM, Atlanta-based weather forecasting giant The Weather Company has named a new suite of executives to lead the company into its next phase of growth.
Rohit Agarwal, who previously held executive positions with CNN and SoundCloud, has been appointed CEO, according to a press release. Former CEO Sheri Bachstein has transitioned to the role of president, and she will lead the company’s enterprise business. She will oversee its products and client portfolios in the advertising, aviation, media and government and defense industries.
Michael Love, the former chief financial officer for Intuit Mailchimp, is stepping into the same role for The Weather Company.
Agarwal said the leadership change is central to what he called a “tremendous business and cultural transformation opportunity.”
“I think that the only constant is change, whether that’s in the weather or in an organization,” Agarwal said.
The changes come a little less than a year after Francisco Partners, a private equity firm out of San Francisco, closed on its acquisition of The Weather Company’s digital assets from IBM. The assets include The Weather Channel digital app and cloud-based operations, Weather.com, Weather Underground and business services for a number of industries. The Weather Channel television network, which is based in Cobb County, remains a separate entity and was not the part of this transaction.
As part of the deal, The Weather Company and its suite of product lines have become a stand-alone business. It intends to create new tools and experiences for consumers and businesses with Francisco Partners’ investment and resources, according to IBM’s release announcing the sale.
The goal of The Weather Company is to focus on what it does best, Agarwal said — forecasting weather patterns as they become increasingly volatile and a central part of people’s lives and business decisions.
The company is also planning to grow its enterprise business. The Weather Company provides tools and insights for several industries, such as aviation and government and defense. But the company is thinking about how it could work with partners in other industries, such as insurance or agriculture.
“The better we are at providing those insights, whether it’s to a company or whether it’s to a person, then the more that what we already believe is a high association of trust with us will improve and so we can further serve our customers,” Agarwal said.
