Friendster, Inc. announced Richard Kimber as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of its board of directors. As the new CEO, Kimber will lead Friendster's global business and guide operations in Asia and U.S.
Most recently, Kimber was the regional managing director of South Asia at Google, where he successfully led business operations and strategic partnerships across the region. Prior to Google, Kimber was the CEO for FirstDirect Bank in the UK. Kimber previously served as global head of eMarketing and CEO of HSBC Internet Payment at HSBC Bank USA. Additional experience includes roles as head of personal eBusiness at HSBC, founder and managing director at HSBC InvestDirect, associate director at Westpac Banking Corp, and other important positions at leading banking establishments.
"Friendster is growing at an enormous rate in Asia Pacific and is clearly leading the competition. I believe this is partly because the Internet is transforming the lives of everyone, and it will probably become one of the greatest liberators of our time," said Kimber.
On the other hand, Friendster recently raised USD20 million in financing led by new investor IDG Ventures, a global network of venture capital funds. The new funding will enable Friendster to extend its leadership position in the Asia Pacific region and continue to grow and monetize its global user base.
In addition to IDG Ventures, all current institutional investors made additional investments as part of this round of funding – Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, and Founders Fund. Joining Friendster's board from IDG is Butch Reddy, general partner.
"With the addition of Richard, Butch, and the new funding, Friendster will continue to expand its worldwide footprint and take advantage of its leadership position in Asia Pacific," said Russ Siegelman, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and chairman of the board for Friendster.
Currently to continue to grow and strengthen the position, Friendster plans to leverage the new funding to focus on user growth, even greater user engagement and monetization, all through new features, new offerings, localization and marketing, for the benefit of over 75 million users worldwide.
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