Livebookings secures top talent for growth
13 April 2010
Management team strengthened with former Google, Unibet Group and AeroScout leaders
Livebookings, the global online marketing and reservations service provider for the restaurant industry, has today announced three key appointments to its executive team. Former Google New Business Development Principal for EMEA, Robert Swerling, joins as Chief Commercial Officer to bolster Livebookings’ aggressive push into new and existing markets. Sue Ball, formerly Chief Financial Officer of Unibet Group, joins as Chief Financial Officer; and technology evangelist and marketing expert, Andris Berzins, joins from AeroScout as Chief Marketing Officer.
The three appointments are the latest in a number of high-profile hires at the company including cloud computing pioneer, Matthew Aubrey-Batchelor, as Chief Technology Officer.
Livebookings, with restaurant customers including Petrus in London, Aquavit in New York, Blue Elephant in Paris, East in Hamburg, and Grill in Stockholm, achieved revenue growth of 300% in 2009. The company has ambitious growth targets for 2010, in both the US as well as Livebookings’ traditional European markets.
Only 7% of restaurants worldwide currently take bookings online – a convenience for guests that also helps restaurants turn tables. Livebookings facilitates online bookings any hour of the day or night through a restaurant’s own website and through a network of 500 booking partners which includes American Express, Yell.com, Qype, Bookatable.com and lastminute.com.
Prior to Google, new CCO Robert Swerling was COO and co-founder of Credit Market Analysis Limited (now part of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange) which has become the leading provider of intra-day credit derivative data systems and services to the financial markets. Swerling began his career as a commercial barrister with Maitland Chambers in Lincoln's Inn, where he practiced for four years.
Talking about the appointment, Swerling said: “Joining Livebookings was an easy decision. It’s a forward-thinking, ambitious and successful company in a burgeoning market, and I see tremendous opportunities for growth.”
Sue Ball, who joins Livebookings as CFO, is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years experience in corporate finance in both the listed and private sector. Ball has served as CFO with companies such as Premier Brands, Burnden Leisure and the Unibet Group. She has overseen the rapid growth of several businesses including leading European online gambling company, Unibet Group, where she helped to secure a listing at a valuation of £65m and growth to a market capitalisation of £500m.
New CMO, Andris Berzins, a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, has a track record of leading the growth and development of global high-tech and software businesses. During a nine year period Berzins served as Vice President at Silicon Valley-based AeroScout, where he led marketing, business development and later, EMEA sales. He was instrumental in propelling the company to market leadership based on the concept of WiFi-based active RFID tags, which Berzins invented.
Commenting on the appointments, Niklas Eklund, CEO, Livebookings, said: “Hiring the best talent is vital to succeed in our aggressive growth plan – it’s something that requires an exceptional team. They’ll be working to help our restaurant customers to fill seats during on and off-peak hours, building valuable guest databases that help bring diners back to eat again – all through use of our online marketing services.”
In September 2009, the company announced the closure of a financing round of $16 million led by pan-European venture capital firm Wellington Partners and backed by existing investors including Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Europe).
Livebookings enables real-time, online reservations on restaurant websites and helps restaurants to access customers that would otherwise be difficult to reach through a global network of partners.
For more information on Livebookings: email Livebookings@brands2life.com or call James Bruce / Oliver Stewart on +44(0)207 592 1200