Productopia(Sm) Adds Leading Internet Executive As
Senior VP of Advertising and Strategic Partnerships
Former NBC Executive Patricia Karpas Rounds
Out Company's Experienced Internet Management
Team
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10, 1999 -- PRNewswire --
Productopia, the Internet's most comprehensive online
product information guide, today announced that
Patricia Karpas has joined the Productopia senior
management team as the company's Senior Vice
President of Advertising and Strategic Partnerships.
Formerly Vice President of Interactive
Advertising/Consumer Marketing at NBC Interactive,
Ms. Karpas brings over 10 years of traditional media
development and Internet sales experience at NBC to
the dynamic management team at Productopia.
In her new position, Karpas will be responsible for the
full spectrum of strategic sales and partnership efforts,
including securing participation of on- and off-line
retailers in the Productopia service, development of
sponsorship and advertising programs, and the
company's overall e-commerce initiatives.
"I'm thrilled to join such an innovative start-up in this
emerging market and be a part of such a dynamic team
of experts," said Karpas. "I look forward to developing
and implementing sales strategies and partnerships to
further build upon the company's efforts to create a
leading consumer business."
Launched in July, Productopia is the online product
information guidethat makes it easy for consumers to
find products they'll love. Covering over 70 product
categories such as digital video cameras, watches,
hand-held PCs, dishwashers, garment bags, tote bags,
SUVs, and golf putters, Productopia is a complete
product information and purchasing resource for
consumers.
The company's unbiased editorial approach aggregates
in-house expertise, nationally recognized experts, and
real-world feedback to deliver product and purchase
recommendations to help consumers make the best
possible purchase decisions. The service is free and
easy to use and offers the most comprehensive array
of products of any online product information guide.
During her tenure at NBC, Karpas successfully
generated revenue for her division through the
development of custom marketing strategies for clients,
Internet advertising, content licensing, and general
sponsorships. She also expanded NBC's nationwide
presence by fostering relationships for NBC.com, NBC
Interactive Neighborhood and many of NBC's online
partners.
Prior to NBC, Karpas was employed at Time Warner
for six years, where she wasresponsible for retention
marketing and marketing development programs, in
addition to implementing creative strategies and
programs for the Cable TelevisionDivision.
"Patricia's proven success in interactive advertising and
client marketing at NBC, coupled with her industry
experience, are invaluable additions tothe Productopia
senior management team," said Roger Neal, President,
CEO and co-founder of Productopia. "She will play an
integral role in validating Productopia as the market
leader in product information guides."
Karpas joins Roger Neal, co-founder and CEO
(formerly of AOL); Rob Novotny, co-founder and VP of
Product Management (formerly of Netscape); Denis
Browne, CTO (formerly of Oracle); Rik Myslewski, VP
of Editorial (formerly of Ziff-Davis); and Mark Brutten,
VP of Brand Marketing (formerly of When.com and
Excite) on the Productopia senior management team
About Productopia Productopia, Inc., headquartered in
San Francisco, California, is the Internet's most
comprehensive product information guide for today's
consumers. The company's unbiased editorial approach
aggregates in-house expertise, nationally recognized
experts, and real-world feedback to deliver product and
purchase recommendations to help consumers make
the best possible purchase decisions.
Investors in Productopia include @Ventures, the
affiliated venture capital arm of CMGI; Amicus
Investments; Angel Investors LLC, the Internet
investment fund started by Ron Conway; Arba Seed
Investment Group; Osprey Ventures; Ben Rosen,
Chairman of Compaq; Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of
barnesandnoble.com; and Sunil Paul, CEO of
BrightLight Technologies. Productopia can be found at
productopia.com . |
