LinkedIn to Push in Europe
The business social networking site LinkedIn has appointed a European managing director, heralding a new wave of European expansion.
LinkedIn said Kevin Eyres, the former general manager of search engine Alta Vista, will head its European service from a new office in London. The company is already recruiting six more staff in sales, marketing and business development. However, technical development will remain based at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.
LinkedIn has been benefiting from the growth of interest in social networking sites, along with rival services Facebook, Bebo and MySpace, but offers a more niche service for professionals that it hopes will tap into a more lucrative business demographic. Eyres said LinkedIn’s strategy would be to target each country in Europe individually, with localised versions of the service under development.
LinkedIn now has 5 million users in Europe. It has big plans for growth in 2008 and will concentrate on the 25% of the population that fits its target demographic. Industry commentators have been predicting that LinkedIn will be bought by a major media firm, with some tipping Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation as a potential buyer.
About
LinkedIn is an online network of more than 13 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.
When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.
Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.
Investors: Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, European Founders Fund.
