With over 50 million users worldwide, a big leap in traffic last year due to their success on mobile, their rapid expansion in emerging markets, and increased acquisition activity, Viadeo’s evolution has been looking a lot more interesting as of late. However, to finally break-out of LinkedIn’s shadow (200 million users to Viadeo’s 50 million) and speed up the pace of their growth and international expansion, Viadeo will need to take bolder, more aggressive moves. Enter Michel Meyer, founder of successful French B-to-B video platform Kewego who has just been announced as their new Managing Director. Meyer actually joined Viadeo last August and managed their mobile activities which have been a big success thus far.
In his new role, Meyer will support current Viadeo CEO and co-founder Daniel Serfaty and will be tasked with accelerating Viadeo’s growth, particularly in emerging markets such as Russia and China. Serfaty elaborated on Meyer’s appointment adding:
“After our success on mobile, where traffic has multiplied by 4 in less than 6 months, the choice of Michel for this role was the most natural one for Thierry and myself (the founders), our shareholders, and our employees.”
Meyer is considered a pioneer in France’s digital space having founded his first company MultiMania in 1995, one of the first French internet companies to IPO, and Kewego in 2003 which was sold to NASDAQ-listed Kit Digital in 2011. His experience, particularly having successfully built and exited companies, will certainly be an asset for Viadeo as they continue to mull over their future plans and exit strategy.