MediaWhiz Holdings Inc., a provider of performance-based online marketing services, has appointed former DoubleClick executive Jonathan Shapiro as CEO.
Mr. Shapiro will oversee the integration of MediaWhiz’s suite of marketing services as well as lead the development and launch of new offerings.
“We have grown MediaWhiz Holdings to be a sizeable business and one of the largest players in its industry,” said Kevin Rowe, director at private equity firm Lake Capital. “As a result, we identified the need for a seasoned executive with experience building and running larger companies to lead the effort to integrate our four business units, yet who could also achieve the delicate balance of maintaining the entrepreneurial culture of MediaWhiz.
“Furthermore, we are developing new offerings and evolving our go-to-market strategy,” he said. “And we required someone with experience developing strategic plans and implementing those plans successfully.”
In addition to strategizing, Mr. Shapiro will also work with the rest of the MediaWhiz management team in developing and managing partner and customer relationships.
“We are growing more than 50 percent annually,” Mr. ? Shapiro said. “And job No. 1 for me is to identify our biggest opportunities to help accelerate that growth.”
Mr. Shapiro was previously chief strategy officer for DoubleClick, where he was responsible for setting strategy and overseeing mergers and acquisitions. As senior vice president of DoubleClick’s Abacus online division, he created DoubleClick’s data strategy and oversaw development of new online targeting products and services.
“Jonathan has a unique combination of industry, strategy and operations experience,” Mr. Rowe said. “His background at DoubleClick and United Media gives him substantial industry insight. His experience as the director of strategy for DoubleClick and a consultant with McKinsey will help us substantially in developing relevant strategy for our business.
“Furthermore, his proven operational experience with Lillian Vernon, a similar sized business, combined with his strategy and industry capabilities, provides a unique set of skills for MediaWhiz Holdings to draw upon as we move forward,” he said.
Mr. Shapiro said that MediaWhiz is like a new kid on the Internet advertising industry block.
“By this time next year, we hope that advertisers and publishers think we are setting the bar for online marketing that performs,” he said.
