Shazam, the media engagement company, announced that Rich Riley has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer.  Andrew Fisher, who has led Shazam as CEO since 2005, has been appointed to the newly created full-time position of Executive Chairman.  John Pearson who has been Chairman of the Board since 2006 will become a Non-Executive Director and remain on the board.

With Riley and Fisher in their new positions, and the recent hire of the BBC’s Daniel Danker as Chief Product Officer joining the existing executive team, Shazam now has put into place an executive leadership team that will accelerate the company’s growth trajectory while continuing to deliver innovation for Shazam’s products and services as the company pursues new market opportunities. Shazam now has more than 300 million users in over 200 countries worldwide.

“I am extraordinarily excited to be joining the Shazam team. Andrew Fisher has assembled a world-class organization that has made Shazam a global consumer brand that provides an exceptional consumer experience and has set the stage for the company’s next phase of growth,”  said Rich Riley. “I look forward to extending our dominance in media engagement, from our roots in music to our leadership position in second-screen TV and want to ensure that Shazam is the company that helps people recognize and engage with the world around them.”

“I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Rich Riley as Shazam’s new Chief Executive Officer,” said Andrew Fisher. “Rich brings a tremendous amount of experience both as an Internet executive where he has rapidly scaled global businesses, to establishing strategic relationships with advertisers and partners, as well as his entrepreneurial approach and skills.  Whilst Rich will run our business I will now spend more time focusing on our corporate development and future strategy including our ambitions to deliver a successful IPO for our shareholders as we look to become an increasingly important part of people’s everyday lives, helping them engage with content and brands in the most efficient way possible.”

Featured by Fortune as one of their 40 Under 40: Ones to watch for 2011, Rich Riley joins Shazam with more than 17 years experience as an entrepreneur and leading Internet executive.  Most recently, Riley was EVP Americas for Yahoo! where he was responsible for billions of dollars of revenue and managed a team of thousands, overseeing sales, account management, ad operations, B2B marketing, research and business development across the US, Canada and LatAm.  Prior to that, Riley held a variety of roles including MD & SVP of the EMEA Region, SVP of the Small & Medium Business Division as well as corporate and business development roles.

Prior to his more than 13 years with Yahoo, Riley was co-founder and Managing Member of the Internet start-up Log-Me-On.com that developed and patented what is today the Yahoo! Toolbar.

In the last year, Shazam for TV Advertising, which started in North America, was expanded to the UK, Western Europe and Asia Pacific.  Shazam for TV is already generating double-digit millions in revenues, with Shazam for TV Advertising integrated into over 250 TV ad campaigns since launch, including those for A-list global brands such as Pepsi, Toyota, Barclays, Sony Entertainment and many more. Shazam is making TV advertising interactive, essentially “clickable”; people can tap one button and in just a few seconds, instantly arrive at a rich experience for the brand within the Shazam App, extending the 30-second TV ad into several minutes of engagement, getting more information and special offers, and even shopping from the sofa.

Shazam investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, Institutional Venture Partners, Acacia Capital and DN Capital.

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