Sunnyvale - October 28, 2008 - Kaboodle (www.kaboodle.com), the largest and fastest-growing online social shopping community where people discover, recommend and share products, announced today that Shari Gunn has joined the company as vice president of advertising & business development for Kaboodle, Inc., which was acquired by Hearst Corporation in August 2007.
Gunn has extensive experience in online sales and marketing, largely focused on the development of innovative revenue-generating programs and platforms. Previously, Gunn provided leadership for Hearst Magazines Digital Media in New York where she managed the marketing and advertising solutions group for a network of over a dozen magazine and non-magazine sites, including platforms for well-known brands such as Cosmopolitan.com, GoodHousekeeping.com, MarieClaire.com and Seventeen.com. Also at Hearst, Gunn managed business integration activities for two acquisitions in the digital media space, Kaboodle and RealAge, Inc.
At Kaboodle, Gunn oversees revenue generation and strategic partnerships. Specifically, she defines the key elements of Kaboodle's monetization strategy around both display advertising and retailer partnerships. Gunn will work closely with Hearst Magazines Digital Media, which will continue to offer all advertising opportunities to the market. She will also collaborate with key partners in order to creatively develop and execute new social media programs designed to integrate advertisers more closely with the Kaboodle community.
"Hiring Shari is a tremendous milestone for Kaboodle," said Manish Chandra, founder and CEO of Kaboodle. "She brings a wealth of business and media advertising experience to the company, including an unparalleled understanding of the online media industry. Shari's deep understanding of digital marketing, along with her previous successes, makes her a huge asset to our management team."
"It is a privilege to join Kaboodle, the number one social shopping site," said Gunn. "Kaboodle leads the industry in online social shopping, providing passionate shoppers an opportunity to discover and share new products through the community. Moving forward into the holiday shopping season and 2009 planning, I believe our customers, partners and community will greatly benefit from Kaboodle's Web 2.0 technology and innovation. I'm truly excited about the company's future prospects and market leadership success as we continue to grow and pioneer the way in social media space."
Before joining Hearst, Gunn spent four years at PRIMEDIA in Los Angeles where she was most recently vice president, marketing for PRIMEDIA's Automotive Enthusiast digital team where she oversaw sales marketing efforts for a network of over 50 automotive magazine web sites, including Motor Trend, Automobile and Hot Rod. Gunn co-founded the online media company, FreeRealTime.com in the financial information services space. Celebrating its 10-year anniversary, FreeRealTime.com is the first site on the Internet to offer free, real-time stock quotes to individual investors. She holds an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.
About Kaboodle
Kaboodle (www.kaboodle.com) is a social shopping community where people discover, recommend and share products. Kaboodle's powerful shopping tools allow people to organize their shopping through lists, discover new things from people with similar style, get discounts on popular products, and find best prices. With nearly 10 million unique monthly visitors, at the heart of Kaboodle is a fun and engaging community of people who love to shop. Community members create and join groups, share advice, feedback and product suggestions, and personalize their profiles with polls and other widgets. In August 2007, Kaboodle was acquired by Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com); one of the nation's largest diversified media companies, and is part of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, which manages 24 Web sites and nine mobile sites.
Contacts:
Julie O'Grady, 650-965-1187, julie@ogradycommunications.com
