Get to know Bluefin Labs' new CEO JP Maheu

By Natan Edelsburg 

Social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs has just announced a new CEO. Jean-Philippe (JP) Maheu was appointed today as the CEO as cofounder and MIT genius Deb Roy moves into more of a behind the scenes role as he returns to the famous MIT Media Lab where the company was birthed. Maheu’s experience includes senior executive roles at Razorfish, Ogilvy & Mather and Publicis Modem. We spoke to NYC-based social TV executive about his experience, his new role at Bluefin, his favorite TV shows and more.

Lost Remote: Why did you decide to leave the advertising/agency world?

JP Maheu: If you look on my career I went back and forth from large and small. In ’97 I was a strategy consultant at a multinational firm and went to a little company called Razorfish at the time. It’s not the first time [I’ve gone from large to small], twice already and now a third time. This is the golden age of marketing and a lot of the innovations are coming from the smaller, data driven companies. I’m not really leaving, Bluefin is a player in that space, that’s the first reason.

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The second, Bluefin is at the intersection of the largest form of media, which is TV, which is not going anywhere. It’s going to change over time, it’s the most formidable form of media to communicate. It’s unique to be in that position where you build tech and provide data and sourcing. Third’s is the team. Tom is great and the two founders and the whole engineering team. The team is very strong.

LR: Where will you be based?

Maheu: I live in NYC, will spend a fair amount of time traveling, meeting networks and prospects. Longer term the company will keep offices and the product engineering team in Boston, we already have a presence in New York with a small sales team.

LR: What are your favorite TV shows?

Maheu: The first one doesn’t have ads – Game of Thrones. Two is Glee, it’s fairly mundane to see that but I have a fourteen year old girl, it’s a great way to spend time with my daughter and I love music. And I’m a big sports fanatic.

LR: Who will you be rooting for in the Olympics?

Maheu: I’m half French, half American, USA and France. If I had to pick you have to go with your native country, especially in basketball where we know we’re going to lose.

LR: Do you have plans to expand Bluefin beyond the US?

Maheu: I haven’t given too much thought on that, no immediate plans and we still have a lot to prove in the US. However Facebook and Twitter are social platforms that are global. In the details there are quite a few differences, social behaviors, but fundamentally they’re not that different, both are fundamentally global in nature, it’s not that different across countries.

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