SessionM, a startup aiming to increase mobile app engagement, has a new addition to its board of directors — David Kenny, who’s currently serving as chairman and CEO of The Weather Channel.
SessionM co-founder and CEO Lars Albright (who previously co-founded Quattro Wireless, which was acquired by Apple and became the basis of its iAd program) says he got to know Kenny because The Weather Channel is one of SessionM’s biggest publishing partners. At the same time, Kenny has plenty of experience with digital advertising, having served as the CEO of marketing agency Digitas. Both sides are important to SessionM — the company adds a game layer to apps, where users can earn points and eventually rewards for engaging with the app, which also offers new opportunities for advertising.
Kenny’s other credentials include serving as president of content delivery network Akamai, and he’s currently on the board of directors at Yahoo.
Albright says that “given where we are in our stage of growth,” he was looking to bring on an independent board member — now that SessionM has raised more funding, the company can focus on “building a business and scaling a business.” That’s something Kenny understands, especially on the digital media side — and, according to Albright, Kenny’s hoping to learn more about mobile too, since it’s going to be increasingly important to The Weather Channel.
SessionM’s current board consists of Albright, the company’s chief product officer Mark Herrmann, Highland Capital Partners’ Bob Davis, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ Matt Murphy, Charles River Ventures’ Jon Auerbach, and Andy Miller, who was formerly at Highland and is now chief operating officer and president at Leap Motion.
The company also recently hired several VPs and directors from Apple and Google.
SessionM is a Boston, MA-based start-up that is driving mobile ad innovation. Aimed at developers, publishers, and advertisers, SessionM’s platform ignites deeper engagement with mobile content and advertising. SessionM is funded by Highland Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and is part of the iFund initiative.
Mr. Kenny has served as a member of our Board since April 2011. Mr. Kenny has served as President of Akamai Technologies, Inc., a service provider for accelerating and improving the delivery of content and applications over the Internet, since September 2010 and as a director since July 2007. From June 2008 to June 2010, Mr. Kenny was Managing Partner of VivaKi, which is the media and digital arm of Publicis. He served on the Directoire (Management Board) of...
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