XR Appoints John Batter as Chief Executive Officer

Seasoned Media, Entertainment and Technology Executive to Lead XR’s Next Phase of Growth and Innovation

XR, the global leader in creative operations, has appointed John Batter as Chief Executive Officer. Batter brings a wealth of leadership experience across the entertainment, media and technology industries to the role. He will lead XR’s strategy and execution as it accelerates global growth and innovation across its creative technology platform for the world's largest brands, agencies, publishers and studios.

Batter most recently served as CEO of MarketCast, where he led the company’s digital transformation and accelerated the development of its research and advertising effectiveness solutions for global brands, studios and media companies. He joined XR’s Board of Directors in 2022 following Gamut Capital Partners’ acquisition of the company and now succeeds Chandler Bigelow, XR’s Chief Financial Officer, who served as interim CEO for the past eight months and will continue in his CFO role. Jo Kinsella, XR’s Global President and Chief Operating Officer, has now transitioned to the XR Board.

“XR powers the modern creative economy, and John’s strategic foresight, proven leadership and operational discipline will be key to accelerating momentum and expanding our market share across the marketing and creator ecosystem,” said Doug Knopper, Executive Chairman of XR. “As brands face growing pressure to do more with less, XR’s platform is more essential than ever—streamlining creative operations, unlocking asset intelligence and giving customers complete control. This is a transformational moment for our customers and the marketing industry, and we’re thrilled to have John leading us into the future.”

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

“There’s never been a more critical time for marketers and content creators to take control of their creative,” said Batter. “With rising complexity, tighter timelines and growing pressure to deliver results, XR’s platform and scale are uniquely positioned to help customers move faster, work smarter and maximize every asset and investment. I’m thrilled to build upon the company’s momentum and drive even greater impact across the advertising and entertainment industries.”

Today, XR partners with thousands of brands, agencies, publishers and studios across 140 countries, managing and delivering creative to more than 50,000 media endpoints worldwide.

About XR

XR is the global leader in creative operations, giving brands, agencies, studios and publishers complete control of the creative lifecycle. Its AI-powered platform centralizes creative management and streamlines workflows—connecting assets, rights data, omnichannel ad distribution, intelligence and production payments into a single solution that drives growth, boosts efficiency and maximizes creative investments. Thousands of customers trust XR to manage and deliver content flawlessly to more than 50,000 media endpoints in 140 countries, and to oversee more than $1.5 billion in annual production payments to talent, crew and vendors. XR is headquartered in North America, with offices in Europe, Asia and Australia. For more information, visit www.xr.global.

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