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.