Eric Boyko
{{Short description|Canadian entrepreneur (born 1970)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Eric Boyko
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1970}}
| birth_place = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| alma_mater = McGill University
| occupation = Founder, president & CEO,
Stingray Group Inc.
(2007-present)
| years_active = 1991–present
| boards =
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
| signature =
| website = {{URL|http://www.stingray.com/|stingray.com}}
}}
Eric Boyko (born 1970)Josh O’Kane, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/adventure-seeking-entrepreneur-scours-world-for-thrills-deals/article24820014/ “How Stingray’s thrill-seeking CEO took his passion public,”] The Globe and Mail, June 5, 2015. is a Canadian tech entrepreneur and the founder, president and CEO of Stingray Group.
Early life and education
Boyko was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, to a Quebecois mother and Ukrainian father.Steve Ladurantaye, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/eric-boyko-stingrays-entrepreneur-a-go-go-go/article4887145/ “Eric Boyko: Stingray’s entrepreneur a go-go-go,”] The Globe and Mail, November 2, 2012. He earned a bachelor of commerce degree from McGill University in 1992,Paul Delean, [https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Stingray+Digital+growth+groove/10063214/story.html “Stingray Digital in a growth groove,”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803005608/http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Stingray+Digital+growth+groove/10063214/story.html |date=2017-08-03 }} Montreal Gazette, July 24, 2014. and became a certified general accountant in 1997.[http://www.bdc.ca/EN/about/corporate_governance/board_of_directors/Pages/EricBoyko.aspx Eric Boyko] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728054330/https://www.bdc.ca/EN/about/corporate_governance/board_of_directors/Pages/EricBoyko.aspx |date=2015-07-28 }}, bdc.ca. Accessed November 15, 2015.
Career
=Campus Gourmet and eFundraising.com=
Boyko started his first business, Campus Gourmet, in 1991 at the age of 19. The company sold precooked meals to students at McGill University.Keith Randall, [https://www.mcgill.ca/files/management/fallwinter0304.pdf “Who Said the Path to Success is Easy?”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015549/http://www.mcgill.ca/files/management/fallwinter0304.pdf |date=2015-11-17 }} McGill Management Newsletter, Fall/Winter 2003-04, p. 17. He then founded the online fundraising company Universal Fundraising Group with a $2,000 loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada. It was rebranded as eFundraising.com in 1998, and sold to ZapMe in 2000 for $25 million.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal-company-hits-it-big-with-e-fundraising-1.240611 “Montreal company hits it big with e-fundraising,”] CBC News, April 3, 2000.
=Stingray Group Inc.=
In 2007, Boyko and Alexandre Taillefer founded digital music provider Stingray Digital Media Group, with Boyko serving as president and CEO since the company's inception.Robert Briel, [http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2015/03/10/qa-with-stingray-digitals-eric-boyko/ "Q&A with Stingray’s Eric Boyko,"] Broadband TV News, March 10, 2015.[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=10254098&privcapId=50307765 Eric Boyko CGA: Executive Profile], Bloomberg Businessweek. Accessed November 15, 2015. The company sells commercial-free music streams to cable and satellite television providers to add to their subscribers' packages, as well as a music streaming app and an online service for consumers and businesses.[https://montrealgazette.com/business/stingray-digital-said-to-seek-about-120m-in-ipo “Stingray Digital said to seek about $120M in IPO,”] Montreal Gazette, April 24, 2015. Unlike many of its streaming music competitors, Stingray uses human curators rather than algorithms to generate playlists.{{cite web | url=http://www.canadianbusiness.com/innovation/stingray-digital-against-the-stream/ | title=Why Stingray Digital is betting it all against streaming music | work=Canadian Business | date=February 25, 2016 | access-date=May 23, 2017 | archive-date=June 8, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608144625/http://www.canadianbusiness.com/innovation/stingray-digital-against-the-stream/ | url-status=dead }} It was launched with the $6 million purchase of karaoke company Soundchoice, which was then renamed The Karaoke Channel. A year later, Stingray purchased music-streaming TV channel Galaxie from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for $65 million, and renamed it Stingray Music.
The company went public on June 3, 2015, on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Damon van der Linde, [http://business.financialpost.com/investing/stingray-digital-group-inc-plans-global-expansion-after-140m-ipo “Stingray Digital Group Inc plans global expansion after $140M IPO,”] Financial Post, June 3, 2015.
In December 2018, the company officially changed its name to Stingray Group, Inc.
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.stingray.com/ Stingray Digital website]
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Category:Businesspeople from Montreal
Category:McGill University Faculty of Management alumni