Hulu announced the hiring of two senior tech execs — Joe Bentley as SVP of engineering and Jim Denney as VP of product management.
In addition, the streamer said Billie Sue Chafins has been promoted to VP software development and head of Hulu’s Seattle office.
Bentley, previously with GoPro, and Denney, formerly with TiVo, will both report directly to Hulu CTO Dan Phillips, TiVo’s former COO who joined the company in June. Chafins reports directly to Bentley and will assume responsibility for decision-making and operations of the company’s office in Seattle.
Hulu has been investing aggressively in building out its technology team, with plans to hire more than 190 additional employees roles through the end of 2018 alone.
Bentley began his role at Hulu on Monday, Aug. 13, and Denney started last week. Both are based in Hulu’s Santa Monica office.
At Hulu, Bentley is responsible for leading software development, comprising Hulu’s video streaming technology, content platform, client platform and devices, subscriptions and billing, platform engineering, architecture, quality assurance, technical program management, research, machine learning and AI. He will be responsible for managing Hulu’s long-term technical strategy, aligning team efforts to launch new features, and fostering innovation among Hulu’s developers.
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Bentley previously was VP of software engineering at GoPro, responsible for all software engineering and research, including developing mobile and desktop products, web and cloud services, data sciences engineering, AI, and codec research. Prior to GoPro, Bentley held various leadership roles at Amazon where he led the creation, development, and launch of Amazon’s Fire TV product line as well as the engineering for Amazon’s Digital Platform cloud services for digital products.
Denney is responsible for leading Hulu’s product organization, which includes the service platform, billing and payments, experience and engagement, device partnerships and integrations, and advanced technology teams. He’s tasked with directing the company’s long-term product strategy, establishing product team goals, and aligning cross-team efforts to ship innovative features for both subscription VOD and live-streaming services.
Denney comes to Hulu from TiVo, where he was VP of product management and strategy. While at TiVo, he led the launch of products ranging from DVRs and client devices to mobile and online experiences and was part of the team at TiVo that won a Primetime Emmy award for outstanding achievement in enhanced television from the Academy of Television Arts and Science in 2006.
As VP of software development, Chafins will continue to lead client development for Hulu. She’s responsible for delivering and shipping the Hulu experience across all devices. Additionally, as head of the company’s Seattle office, she will now be the key executive on business decisions for the office and its operations and will serve as the company’s lead for recruiting in the city.
Prior to joining Hulu, Chafins spent 14 years at Microsoft, leading several teams responsible for products like Windows UX and Microsoft Office. Before joining Microsoft, she was a lecturer at the University of Kentucky teaching computer science.
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