YouTube hires consultant as vice president of strategy

YouTube has named management consultant Martin Kon as its new vice president of strategy. Kon will lay out plans and lead the charge for the long-term direction of the streaming platform’s original programming and distribution, as well as “address challenges and opportunities across the company.”

Kon will be based out of YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California. There, he will report to the company’s chief business officer, Ryan Kyncl. Kon previously worked at Boston Consulting Group, where he was a senior partner and managing director in the firm’s technology, media, and telecoms practice.

He also worked for nearly two decades at Oliver Wyman in the firm’s New York, London, Toronto, and Munich branches, where he served as an associate, senior associate, and principal, before moving to partner and co-head of the global communications, media, and telecoms practice. Kon, who is a citizen of Canada, the UK, and Germany – as well as a permanent US resident – holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Montreal and an MBA from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

Martin also headed MediaNYC2020, a four-year effort by then-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg “to enhance New York City’s position as a hub for media and technology,” according to Boston Consulting Group’s website.

YouTube several months ago denied reports that it would divert its plans to pursue original content – a strategy first rolled out under the YouTube Red moniker, then later shifted to YouTube Premium – despite its cancellation of two of its biggest original series. The streaming platform is, however, developing an ad-supported model – rather than relying solely on paid, ad-free subscriptions.

Competition in the video streaming service arena is heating up, with more and more companies dipping their toes into the water. Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are already big-name players, but the recent announcement of Disney’s Disney+ and Apple’s upcoming Apple TV+ will widen the arena. Additionally, YouTube TV, which launched in February 2017, offers its customers access to live streams of more than 70 TV networks, as well as access to YouTube Premium.