Baruch College alumnus Kris Qiu became the CEO of the media-buying platform IQM on Jan. 1, according to a news release.

Qiu is responsible for leading the New York-based company, which he co-founded in 2014. He will pay particular attention toward growing its new specialty and highly regulated verticals, such as health care, automotive and gaming.

He previously served as IQM’s chief operating officer, a role in which he developed the firm’s financial and operational infrastructure, led strategic growth initiatives and managed the sales team.

“I am excited to continue to build great products that drive results for our clients and continue to scale the organization with our smart, talented and dedicated teams,” Qiu said in a news release.

Qiu studied business administration and management at LaGuardia Community College and obtained his associate’s degree in 2010. He moved on to Baruch, where he studied finance and earned his bachelor’s degree in 2012. He was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, an international business honor society, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before IQM, Qiu worked in the private equity and investment banking industries, where he obtained experience working with startups and companies that specialize in technology, media and telecommunications, the new release said.

Initially focused on political advertising, the 64-employee company has expanded its services to work with advertisers in the retail, travel and cannabis industries. The platform uses third-party data sources, audience-targeting strategies and artificial intelligence in its services, according to the release.

Qiu took over as CEO from Bhargav Patel, who co-founded the firm with Qiu and will stay on the company’s board as a non-executive chair. Patel described the succeeding CEO as “the right leader for IQM” in the release.

“I am confident his experience, vision and quest for operational excellence will continue to drive IQM’s growth and success in new and highly regulated verticals,” Patel added.