PointCast names new CEO

PointCast has found a new chief executive officer, and plans to unveil the name of the new head of the push technology company tomorrow.

PointCast has searched for a new CEO since June, as it looked to bolster its management ranks with a seasoned executive who could help expand the company's business.

The company plans to hold a conference call with analysts and the press tomorrow morning to introduce the new CEO.

Chris Hassett, cofounder and current CEO of PointCast, will become chairman after the new hire assumes the CEO role. Hassett, who also previously served as chief financial officer, turned that role over to Phil Koen earlier this year.

Hassett, along with PointCast's investors, were active in the CEO search. One investor, Andy Rachleff of Benchmark Capital, had said in an earlier interview that the company was interested in finding an executive from the media industry, given that PointCast has adopted a media business model. PointCast officials declined to comment on the company's CEO choice, or on whether the executive has a media background.

The company, a pioneer in push-related technology, aggregates information from various content providers, including the New York Times and CNN, then pushes the content to users' desktops. Founded in 1992, PointCast provides news and information to viewers and corporations via the Internet and intranets by way of its PointCast Network.

The company is facing tough competition these days from Microsoft's IE 4.0 and Netscape's Netcaster, both of which offer push features. Other smaller push-related companies are nipping at PointCast's heels as well.

Hassett, in a previous interview, had said that PointCast has a critical window of opportunity to establish itself before Microsoft and Netscape adopted a similar format of broadcasting aggregated content.