- Hotmail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia headlines appointments -
PARIS, -- Viadeo, one of the world's largest business social networks, announced several key appointments to its Board of Directors. Joining the Board are Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail and ApnaCircle, William (Bill) Melton, cofounder of VeriFone and early investor in AOL, Derek Ling, founder and CEO of Tianji.com, and Yogesh Bansal, co-founder and CEO of ApnaCircle.
Dan Serfaty, CEO of Viadeo commented, "I am very excited to welcome Sabeer, Bill, Derek and Yogesh to our Board as they are proven commodities with impressive track records in helping start-ups and established companies succeed. They are successful entrepreneurs, operators and investors, and provide us with unique perspectives of the India, China, European and US markets. I have no doubt they, along with the continued contributions of our existing Board members, and investors, Ventech and AGF, will help us further extend our market presence, while opening up new channels for growth."
"In just five years' time, Viadeo has grown to become the second largest professional and social networking site with over 8.5 million users worldwide. What has enabled this growth is the implementation of our 'Glocal' strategy; thinking global while acting local. Having local knowledge is a key asset when developing a worldwide professional network and truly adds value for our user communities," Serfaty concluded.
Mr. Sabeer Bhatia is a Director of ApnaCircle.com and is best known as a co-founder of Hotmail, the world's largest e-mail provider, which was sold to Microsoft in 1997 for $400 million. He has been involved in several start-up companies including Firepower Systems Inc., Arzoo.com, NeoAccel and BlogEverywhere, and began his career as a systems integrator at Apple Computers. In 2002, Mr. Bhatia was named by TIME Magazine as one of the "People to Watch" in International Business and has received several honors and awards throughout his career. He received his BS with honors and his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Mr. Bill Melton is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Global Internet Ventures, an Internet Holding Company. For more than 30 years, Mr. Melton has been an entrepreneur bringing technology to the financial industry. He was the original founder of VeriFone Inc and an early investor in America Online and served on its Board of Directors for several years. Additionally, he was an initial funder of Transaction Network Systems, Prio (sold to Infospace Inc.) and Maxager Technology. He was also the founder and CEO of CyberCash. Mr. Melton is currently an active investor and Board member of several early stage venture capital companies. He holds a Master's degree in Asian Studies and Chinese Philosophy.
Mr. Derek Ling is the founder and CEO of Tianji.com, the leading social networking service for professionals in China (acquired by Viadeo). He has held senior management positions at Motorola, Apple Computer and Sina.com and co-founded Qzone.com (sold to Yahoo!), one of the largest youth entertainment communities in China. Mr. Ling received his BA from Amherst College and MA from Stanford University. He was a PhD candidate at Stanford and had completed the "Executive Program for Growing Companies" at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Yogesh Bansal is founder and CEO of ApnaCircle.com, an online social and professional networking site based in India (acquired by Viadeo). Since the Company's inception, Mr. Bansal has been instrumental in overseeing all facets of the organization, including business development, operations, finance, sales and marketing, among others and continues in these roles today. Before starting ApnaCircle.com, he worked as a market researcher in the areas of business and social networking and was an entrepreneur in the United States. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bansal was with McKesson Inc., an innovative health care services company. He received an MBA from the University of North Carolina, is involved in many India community based activities and has been published frequently.
About Viadeo
Founded in June 2004, Viadeo quickly established itself as an essential tool for professional networking in Europe and beyond. Since then, with more than 8.5 million members, Viadeo is used by those who want to increase their business opportunities (to discover new clients, staff and business partners), enhance their visibility and their online reputation, and manage and develop their network of professional contacts.
Viadeo's members consist of business owners, entrepreneurs and managers from a diverse range of businesses both start-up and well established. Each day Viadeo attracts more than 10,000 new members; 40,000 new connections are made and over 1 million profiles are viewed. Based in Paris (head office), Viadeo also has offices and teams in the UK (London), Spain (Madrid and Barcelona), Italy (Milan), China (Beijing), India (New Delhi) and Mexico (Mexico City). The company employs 200 staff worldwide. For more information, please visit us on the web at www.viadeo.com.
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