The Leading Platform for Advertising Operations

John Batter is the Chief Executive Officer of XR and brings deep experience across the entertainment, media and technology industries, having held leadership roles in both software and data companies and major studios. He has served on XR’s Board of Directors since 2022 before being appointed CEO in 2025.

Prior to XR, John was CEO of MarketCast, where he led the company’s digital transformation and accelerated the growth of its research and advertising effectiveness solutions for global brands, studios and media companies.

Earlier in his career, John was CEO of Gracenote, where he established the company as the global leader in entertainment metadata and drove innovations in contextual advertising and measurement, culminating in Gracenote’s acquisition by Nielsen in 2017. He also held senior leadership roles at DreamWorks Animation, contributing to blockbuster franchises such as Shrek and Madagascar, and later launched M-GO, a streaming on-demand service backed by DreamWorks and Technicolor, which was subsequently acquired by Fandango.

Chandler Bigelow leads the global finance organization at XR with a focus on financial strategy and planning. Most recently he was the CFO of NielsenIQ (formerly known as Nielsen Connect), and a key member of the management team transforming the global company. Prior to that, Chandler was the CFO of Tribune Media Company, where he spent 21 years.
‍
Chandler has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of two digital media companies, CareerBuilder and Classified Ventures (Cars.com and Apartments.com), and has served on the management committee of two cable television networks, the Food Network and the Cooking Channel.

Ginger Bushell leads strategic initiatives at XR, driving enterprise-wide transformation and deployment efforts.

Most recently, Ginger served as Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer at Gracenote, leading global teams in creating and delivering video, music, and sports metadata for platforms like Google, Amazon, Comcast, and Samsung. Prior to that, she held senior leadership roles at M-GO (now FandangoNOW) and Technicolor, where she drove growth, partnerships, and large-scale business transformations. Ginger began her post-MBA career at Patagonia and has since earned a reputation as a pragmatic, results-oriented leader with a strong track record of execution.

‍

Jeff Hawkins is the President and Chief Commercial Officer at XR, leading our commercial go-to-market strategy, working closely with marketing, product, finance, and other internal teams to accelerate business growth across our product lines.

Jeff brings to XR nearly 20 years of experience helping companies grow and transform. Most recently, he worked with a wide range of technology and services businesses in the private equity space. He also served as an Operating Partner with TPG and Deloitte, supporting both early and late-stage software and technology companies. He began his career proudly serving in the U.S. Air Force as an Intelligence Officer before moving on to the National Security Agency (NSA).

Michael Lee leads global operations for XR, where he is responsible for scaling the company’s operational infrastructure and services worldwide. His global team ensures XR’s platform, products, and services are executed efficiently, compliantly, and at scale to support the world’s leading advertisers.

Michael joined XR through its acquisition of Adstream in 2021, where he spent more than a decade in finance and operations leadership roles. Earlier in his career, he held senior consulting and executive positions at Kearney, Ernst & Young, Oystercatchers, and MCA, providing strategic advisory and operational leadership to global clients in technology, telecommunications, media, and finance.

As Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances, Sherman Li is focused on strengthening XR’s industry partnerships, expanding distribution channels, and advancing the company’s data strategies.

Sherman previously served as a Partner at SoftBank Ventures Asia, leading investments in AI, media, and technology companies worldwide. Earlier, he built and scaled metadata and advertising solutions at Gracenote (acquired by Nielsen), bringing ad personalization and ACR technology to most Smart TVs sold in the U.S. He also co-founded multiple startups, including Enswers (acquired by Gracenote) and Evixar (acquired by LG U+). His contributions have been recognized with a 2022 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award, and he holds several patents in video overlays, metadata, and content recognition.

Jim Mainard is XR’s Chief Product & Technology Officer (CPTO), where he is responsible for shaping the company’s product vision, leading technology innovation, and driving product development.

Jim is a transformational leader who is at the forefront of AI and quantum computing. Before joining XR, he served as CTO & EVP of Deep Tech at @XPRIZE, the global technology foundation backed by Google, IBM, NASA, and other leading tech innovators. While there, he helped guide some of the brightest minds in science and technology as they competed to develop breakthroughs for the betterment of our planet.

Earlier in his career at DreamWorks Animation, Jim served as Head of Digital Strategy and Software Development, where he helped lead the studio’s transition from hand-drawn to computer animation. His work transformed animated filmmaking and brought DreamWorks classics like How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda to life, capturing the hearts of audiences worldwide. 

Daniel Mark is President of Global Markets at XR, responsible for the overall leadership and performance of all regions outside North America. With over 25 years of experience across media, advertising, and technology, Daniel has built a career leading international expansion, business transformation, and driving results in high-growth environments.

Prior to joining XR, Daniel was CEO of Adstream, a global creative workflow platform, where he led the business through a period of sustained growth, operational improvement, and strategic evolution, culminating in its acquisition by Extreme Reach in 2021. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Finance at Sony Music’s Columbia Records, where he led commercial strategy and financial planning across frontline labels and major artist ventures.

Michael McGuire is President of XR Pay, XR’s division dedicated to comprehensive payroll and financial solutions for the advertising and entertainment industries. Michael brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in enterprise hardware, software and services spanning the financial, technology and entertainment industries.

He was most recently COO of FilmTrack, the industry leader in handling the complex intellectual property management process for the Media and Entertainment Industry, where he led the company to a successful exit. Previously, Michael was the EVP of Sales and Marketing for FastPay, a leader in B2B fintech for the digital media space, where he was instrumental in growing the portfolio from $500M to over $1.6B in 18 months. He also held senior positions at organizations including Velocify (acquired by Ellie Mae), Siebel Systems (acquired by Oracle), FileNet (IBM) and Ascendant Technology (Avnet). Michael has been recognized for his achievements in growing revenue, building strategic partnerships and implementing process optimization to ensure consistency and efficiency.

Graham McKenna joins XR from MarketCast, where he served as CMO and helped build the company’s advertising research and measurement business. Prior to that, he led product marketing at Nielsen following its acquisition of Gracenote, where he spent nearly nine years leading all marketing for its entertainment data and ACR business. He’s also held marketing roles at THX (Lucasfilm) and worked in agency advertising and broadcast news.

Eric's career spans more than 25 years across the technology, media, and professional services sectors. Eric has built and guided legal teams and orchestrated complex business transactions throughout his career. He has spearheaded Private Equity carve-outs, multinational mergers and acquisitions, and provided strategic counsel on critical areas including cybersecurity, privacy, labor & employment, intellectual property, and corporate governance.
‍
Most recently, Eric was the Chief Legal Officer at Vialto Partners, a carve-out of PwC's Global Mobility practice, where he built their first legal team from scratch. Prior to Vialto, Eric spent more than 20 years at Nielsen where he was right in the middle of the media and advertising ecosystem, holding a variety of legal roles in the United States, China, and Australia.