NBCi To Name Analyst Braverman Head Of New Business-To-Business Venture
Dow Jones Online News, Friday, December 03, 1999 at 00:42
(Published on Thursday, December 02, 1999 at 21:42)
By Kara Swisher, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
NBC Internet Inc., in its first executive appointment since merging
the major Internet assets of the NBC television network with two large
San Francisco-based Internet sites, NBC Internet Inc. will name
well-known Wall Street analyst Alan Braverman as president of its new
business-to-business unit today.
The move by Mr. Braverman, 38 years old, who left his job as the
senior managing director and head of Internet research at Banc of
America Securities LLC several months ago, is part of a growing exodus
of Internet analysts and bankers from investment banks to a range of
Web-oriented businesses.
Another well-regarded analyst, Keith Benjamin, left Robertson
Stephens Inc. in October to open a San Francisco office for the
Boston-based venture-capital firm Highland Capital Partners.
In his new job Mr. Braverman will be charged with developing and
overseeing a new business-to-business initiative at NBCi, which mostly
has a consumer orientation.
NBCi Chief Executive Officer Chris Kitze said the addition of Mr.
Braverman will help the company's ability to market to businesses,
especially smaller ones, in the same way it has done to consumers.
As an analyst, Mr. Braverman said he thought this arena was the most
promising on the Internet so he wanted to become part of its growth.
NBCi was only formed this past week, a culmination of a deal to meld
many of the the Internet assets of NBC, a unit of General Electric Co.,
with those of CNet Inc.'s Web portal site Snap.com and Xoom.com Inc., a
commerce and community site.
In related news, John J. McMenamin has been appointed executive vice
president of sales and marketing at the company. Mr. McMenamin, 45, will
oversee advertising, sponsorship and integrated media sales. His most
recent job was as vice president and general manager of sponsorship for
iVillage Inc., a female-oriented Web site and he also previously served
as president of Turner Private Networks Inc.
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