Corporate reshuffle at Komli; focus on new technology

Digital ad network Komli Media on February 8, 2011 announced that it was undergoing a reshuffle at the top level. Chairman and CEO Amar Goel will now exit from the CEO’s position, but will remain as Chairman of the Board, where he will have more time to look at the innovation and expansion plans that the company is now working on.

At the same time, COO Prashant Mehta will take over as CEO and will assume the responsibility of the operational, financial and strategic areas of the business globally. Mehta was made COO in December 2008 and has been instrumental in deepening relationships with agencies, advertisers and publishers. He said that revenues for the company had grown by 600 per cent in the last one year.

Meanwhile, the company is also starting a new engineering center in Bangalore, where they are hiring 100 engineers to drive innovation in new products and platforms. Mehta said, “Komli has always been driven by innovation, and this new step by us will help maintain our edge.”

“I have very much enjoyed working with Prashant over the last two years, and can really think of nothing more exciting than having him take on this new role. His strong leadership skills, industry experience and business acumen have helped Komli Media expand aggressively in the last two years. I am also extremely excited about the launch of our Bangalore center as it confirms our commitment to hiring the best and building the most innovative products for digital media. When I look at our product roadmap, it is really exciting to see the capabilities we are developing and the customer value they can deliver,” said Goel.

Mehta added here, “We are a leading ad network, and we will focus on three things. First, we will work on scale, optimisation and targeting. Better technology will lead to improvements in all these and this in turn is good for both advertisers and consumers. Second, we will develop our audience measurement tools, which are of tremendous importance to advertisers. Third, with the 100 new people we are hiring, we now have the luxury to incubate new ideas, and start labs to go off the roadmap, which could lead to great new products.”

The company recently acquired $15 million in funding from Northwest Venture partners and the company is planning its expansion using these funds. The investments in engineering were the first stage, said Mehta, while growing new markets was also a priority. He added, “We are looking at things for the long term right now, and we are watching all new developments very carefully so we can take the right steps.”

The company is also looking at mobile technology developments, and while Mehta said that it was early days yet to make predictions, he was hopeful about future growth in mobile Internet and advertising. He said, “We are seeing growth well beyond the Tier I cities, and we are hoping that new technology will bring greater reach. The industry is doing well right now, and inquiries and spends are on the uptake right now, and I think that a lot of people who were earlier not looking at digital are also aware of the medium and its reach now.”