Netflix Hires EA Exec Ken Barker as Principal Accounting Officer

Netflix has tapped longtime Electronic Arts finance govt Ken Barker as principal accounting officer, reporting to CFO Spencer Neumann.

Netflix disclosed the employing of Barker in an SEC submitting Monday. Barker commences at Netflix on June 27.

”Mr. Barker is assuming the purpose of Principal Accounting Officer from Spencer Neumann, who continues to provide as the Company’s Chief Economical Officer and Principal Monetary Officer,” the Netflix filing suggests.

Previously, the primary accounting exec at Netflix was JC Berger, VP of finance and worldwide controller, who labored at the organization for the previous 15 a long time. Berger’s last working day at Netflix was June 10.

Barker, 55, arrives from online games enterprise Electronic Arts, most not long ago as senior VP finance considering that August 2021, and as SVP and main accounting officer from June 2003 to August 2021. He had labored at EA considering that 2003. Prior to signing up for EA, Mr. Barker worked at Sun Microsystems as company controller and at Deloitte as an audit associate.

Barker joins Netflix as the enterprise has entered into a new — and unfamiliar — time period of expense-cutting. As aspect of endeavours to rein in prices, the company final month laid off 150 staff, generally in the U.S., coming soon after a trimmed 25 positions in its promoting team.

Netflix stunned buyers by reporting a net decline of 200,000 subscribers for the first quarter, and projected dropping a different 2 million in Q2. On the streamer’s Q1 earnings interview in April, Neumann reported the company would be “responsible in phrases of how we control the business” and stated “we’re pulling back on some of our shell out expansion throughout both of those content material and non-material expend, but nevertheless increasing our devote and nonetheless investing aggressively into that prolonged-expression possibility.”

For every Netflix’s submitting, Barker will get an annual foundation salary of $2.4 million and a $600,000 annual inventory choice allowance under Netflix’s inventory possibility plan.

Barker serves on the board of administrators of non-profit group AbilityPath and on the accounting advisory board for the University of Notre Dame. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Notre Dame.

Neumann, who was beforehand CFO of online games company Activision Blizzard and a previous Disney finance exec, was named Netlfix’s CFO in January 2019.