News

Livebookings strengthens senior line up to cement market leadership position

22 August 2011

New VP Sales, VP Marketing and President USA announced at Europe’s restaurant reservations and marketing leader

Livebookings, the market leader in real-time reservations and online marketing services for restaurants, has announced changes to its senior management team. The changes include the appointment of Guy Halfhead as Vice President Sales, the promotion of Celia Pronto to Vice President Marketing, and an increased focus on the US market with the appointment of Chris Persson to the role of President USA.

With a proven track record of scaling venture backed SaaS firms, Guy Halfhead joins Livebookings from KickApps to lead the company’s global sales division. As Business Development Director at KickApps (the market leading social publishing solution acquired by NASDAQ listed Kit Digital), Guy was responsible for driving sales, customer acquisition and strategic partnerships across EMEA. Prior to this, Guy led the integration of CTSpace to Sword Group, listed on Euronext.

In addition to strengthening its sales force, Livebookings has also announced the promotion of Celia Pronto, previously Managing Director of Consumer Marketing at Livebookings’ consumer restaurant reservations website, Bookatable. With over sixteen years brand and marketing experience across the travel, hospitality, FMCG, services and e-commerce sectors, Celia takes on responsibility for global customer acquisition and retention activities, brand development, marketing and communications for Livebookings and Bookatable. Celia joined Livebookings in November 2010, having previously held senior marketing roles at STA Travel, InterContinental Hotels Group, Rank Group Plc and Unilever.

Chris Persson, formerly Chief Sales Officer for Livebookings, will take on the newly created position of President USA, leading an increased focus in developing this market. As one of the original founders of Livebookings, Chris brings unique experience in the sector and is ideally placed to spearhead the organisation’s US operations.

Colin Tenwick, CEO of Livebookings, says “It’s an exciting time for Livebookings, as we continue to dominate the online reservations space. The recent announcement of our 20-millionth cover is testament to how quickly the sector is growing, and with the new strategic hires strengthening our senior management team we remain well placed to continue pursuing our aggressive growth strategy. Guy’s international sales record, together with Celia’s brand and marketing expertise and Chris’s extensive experience will be instrumental in driving future growth and contributing to the success of the company.”

Since its launch in 2001, Livebookings has always been a pioneer in the online restaurant reservations market. Today, over 9000 restaurants in 23 countries use the Livebookings system, with a reservation make every three seconds.

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To download high resolution images of Guy Halfhead, Celia Pronto and Chris Persson please visit: www.livebookings.co.uk/news