The team at New York-based Canary has beefed up its leadership with a seasoned executive from the technology scene.
On Tuesday, the company named Julio Pekarovic as its chief operating officer. He previously was chief financial officer and chief administrative officer at Quantcast, which develops technology for audience measurement. Prior to that, he was a vice president at Google.
Pekarovic’s role at Canary will include overseeing internal operations such as finance, customer service, and the product supply chain.
Canary is a smart home security device—equipped with sensors and video camera—that can send alerts to the users’ smartphones if there is a fire, an intruder, or other types of trouble. After a few years of development, the product began shipping to its early backers this month.
The connected devices, Internet of Things sector is getting a lot of attention, with more startups creating sensors, remote means to control appliances, and other uses for linking hardware and software. Canary has also worked with grad students at Cornell Tech to develop new ideas for its product.
The company landed in the spotlight in 2013 when an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign took off overnight and raised nearly $2 million.
Canary also raised funds the old-fashioned way, including last March’s $10 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures. We shall see if the addition to its leadership team, and the release of its product, can further cement Canary’s place in the connected device, smart home scene.
