Bitmovin names Ian Baglow as co-chief executive officer

VIENNA: Video-streaming specialist Bitmovin has split the top job, elevating Ian Baglow to co-chief executive alongside co-founder Stefan Lederer in a leadership rejig aimed at accelerating growth and tightening customer and partner ties.

Under the new structure, Baglow will steer day-to-day operations and commercial execution, while Lederer will focus on long-range strategy, product direction and market development. The move formalises a division of labour already taking shape inside the company as it scales globally.

Baglow joined Bitmovin in 2021 as chief revenue officer, tasked with driving customer retention and new client wins. His remit widened in 2024 when he became president and chief revenue and operations officer, putting him at the centre of sales and operational strategy. Before Bitmovin, he held senior roles at BAE Systems and SilverSky, building a track record in scaling businesses, entering new markets and launching products.

“I’m honored to be appointed as co-chief executive, where I will of course continue to work closely with Stefan who I have great admiration and respect for,” says Baglow. “This shared leadership role will allow us to use our highly complementary skills and strengths to take Bitmovin to new levels, and I look forward to solidifying Bitmovin’s market position and contributing to its continued growth.”

Lederer casts the appointment as a natural next step in Bitmovin’s evolution. “Ian has played a key role in driving company growth in recent years, and I believe as co-chief executive, he will be integral to Bitmovin’s sustainable expansion and success,” he says. With Baglow handling operations and partnerships, Lederer plans to double down on “the next generation of our technology, as well as the strategic side of the business”.

Founded in Austria, Bitmovin has positioned itself as a core technology supplier to the streaming economy. It built what it describes as the world’s first commercial adaptive streaming player and launched a software-defined encoding service that runs across cloud platforms. Its cloud-native stack spans encoding, playback and analytics, with a pitch centred on scalability, device reach and ease of integration.

The group counts more than 400 customers worldwide, including DAZN, Fox, MBC Group, Astro, BBC and Warner Brothers Discovery. Headquartered in Denver and Klagenfurt, it also operates out of Vienna, London and Berlin.

As streaming matures into a fiercely competitive infrastructure business, Bitmovin’s dual-chief model signals a company intent on pairing technical ambition with commercial muscle. In a market where performance, scale and reliability decide winners, sharper leadership may prove as critical as sharper code.