Seasoned CEO, Venture Capitalist Appointed to Lead Jumptap’s Expansion
Cambridge, MA – Jumptap, the leading provider of mobile advertising solutions, announced that George Bell has been appointed CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Former CEO Dan Olschwang will remain on the Jumptap Board.
To focus fully on Jumptap, Bell will take an indefinite leave from his duties as a Managing Director at General Catalyst, a top-tier venture capital firm and one of Jumptap’s lead investors. Bell will advance the company’s growing future as a platform agnostic mobile advertising network.
Founded in 2004, Jumptap leads the mobile advertising industry with deep technology expertise, the broadest array of open mobile ad solutions and an unmatched patent portfolio. Jumptap serves more than six billion impressions across multiple platforms each month. The company has evolved into the defacto partner for digital and media agencies, publishers, carriers and brand advertisers, delivering both brand and direct response mobile advertising solutions.
“Dan Olschwang was instrumental in building the technology platform, targeting and partner network that differentiate Jumptap. The company’s growth and scale owe much to Dan. We are indebted to his leadership and will always be grateful for his contribution,” said John Simon, a Managing Director at General Catalyst and a member of the Jumptap Board.
A seasoned chief executive officer, George Bell focuses on the creation and growth of technology-enabled media and marketing businesses. Prior to his role at General Catalyst, he served as CEO of Upromise, the country’s largest college savings platform, sold in 2006 to Sallie Mae. Previously, he was Chairman and CEO of Excite@Home, bringing together the Excite portal with the @Home cable broadband platform in a $7 billion merger. Bell was CEO of Excite prior to the merger, led the company’s IPO, oversaw the acquisition of more than 30 companies and expanded Excite into a worldwide media property.
Earlier, Bell founded The Outdoor Life Network (now Versus Network), a specialty cable channel reaching 60+MM homes. He has won four Emmy Awards for his work as a producer and writer of documentaries.
“Mobile devices have rapidly become the world’s most ubiquitous access point to the internet. This is an incredibly exciting time, as we pilot how these devices will maximize value to consumers and marketers, and continue to open our platform to new partnerships,” said George Bell, Jumptap’s newly appointed CEO. “Jumptap’s market share gains, especially over the last year, reflect the company’s ability to execute. I’m looking forward to leading the company to even greater heights.”
“George is an industry veteran with a winning history,” said Geoff Yang, Founding Partner, Redpoint Ventures, who backed George at Excite. Redpoint is a co-lead investor in Jumptap. “We consider ourselves lucky to have George at Jumptap, given that he’s seen the key shifts in media and marketing over the last decade, and can bring that perspective to the fast-moving mobile revolution.”
About Jumptap
Jumptap operates the largest independent premium mobile advertising network in North America, offering the largest unique user footprint with a penetration of approximately 63 million unique visits a month in the U.S. alone. Jumptap leverages its highly advanced algorithmic engine and unique IP to deliver the best ROI for advertisers and the highest monetization for publishers. The result is a network of mobile websites and applications that combine best-in-class content and services together with highly relevant advertising to create an experience that appeals to the mobile consumer. Flexible solutions offer both fixed CPM and bidded CPC campaigns. For more information, visit www.jumptap.com or follow us on twitter.com/jumptap .
