Patrick Keane, chief executive officer of the Action Network since 2018, announced that he is stepping down from the role. The sports betting content platform provides analysis, insights and other statistics in order to enhance the consumer experience. While Keane was leading the company, it was acquired by Better Collective in a deal worth $240 million that became official in May 2021. The transaction will officially take effect at the end of January, and there is no resolution on who will take his role.
In an internal email to staff, Keane called the experience of building and growing the Action Network “the most rewarding experience” of his professional career. Keane graduated Trinity College in Hartford with a degree in history and worked at Google as its director of sales strategy and product marketing. Additionally, he was responsible for managing a team overseeing sales strategy, research and analytics at CBS Interactive as its executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
“[When Better Collective] successfully acquired Action in the early summer of 2021, Action´s revenue for the 12 months leading up to the sale had exceeded $20 million, which included several months of full-blown COVID impact,” Marc Pederson, Better Collective North America chief executive officer, said in an email to staffers. “The rapid growth has continued and revenues have more than doubled since then. Patrick leaves behind a high-performing and fast growing organization.”
Before joining the company, Keane worked as the board director and eventual president of Sharethrough, an advertising software used by publishers, advertisers and app developers. He also served on the board of Bleacher Report for two years where he helped raise $32.5 million in Series C and D funding prior to its sale to Time Warner’s Turner division.
Keane’s departure comes two months after sports business reporter Darren Rovell left the company to serve as chief executive officer of Kickstand Cocktails. In his remarks, he conveyed how there is a rapid transition within the sports media business and missed “the dollars and cents reporting” that helped compel him to work in the field.
