New CEO Michael Schreck Joins Zmags to Lead the Charge into Mobile and Social Commerce
By Zmags, PRNEMonday, May 23, 2011
BOSTON, May 24, 2011 -
- Co-founder of Upromise, m-Qube, SmartBargains and General Catalyst
Partners to lead fast growing SaaS company that is transforming the way
global brands engage their consumers online, on Facebook, and on the iPad
Zmags (www.zmags.com/) , the industry's leading rich media
(www.zmags.com/products) merchandising and analytics solution, today
announced the appointment of Michael Schreck as president and chief executive
officer. Schreck brings 20 years of experience in building and leading
pioneering companies that have enabled the world's most progressive brands to
deeply engage with their customers via innovative business process, software,
and technology.
Schreck joins the company to expand its successful digital publishing
business in the rapidly developing mobile and social commerce markets. His
deep understanding of retail, loyalty and brand marketing will enable Zmags
to provide its global client base with the most advanced merchandising and
analytics tools available. The Company's technology lets leading brands and
retailers break free of static online shopping sites and to leverage the
unique interactions available on the iPad, the iPhone, Facebook and across
virtually all mobile and social channels.
"For smart brands, it's about far more than building an app that no one
downloads or continually re-purposing the same online content to a mobile
device. It's all about merchandising the ideal customer experience,
regardless of platform, to drive a quantum improvement in consumer
engagement, revenue conversions, and data insight," said Schreck. "Zmags'
technology helps global brands design a uniquely personalized rich-media
experience wherever a customer chooses to shop - online, on mobile devices,
or on Facebook. When I look at the Zmags merchandising and analytics engine,
its active roster of 3,000 leading global brands, and the pace of change
being driven by the iPad and Facebook, I see brilliant growth opportunities
for our Company and I'm thrilled to be taking the helm at this exciting
time."
To support Schreck's vision, the company today announced its new flagship
service: CommercePro by Zmags. CommercePro is the first merchandising and
retail intelligence solution optimized specifically for online, mobile and
social commerce. [For more details on Zmags CommercePro please see release
Zmags Introduces Zmags CommercePro - the First Merchandising Solution
Optimized for e-Commerce (issued on May 24, 2011).]
Firas Raouf, a partner at OpenView Venture Partners and a lead investor
in Zmags, had this to say of Schreck's appointment: "Michael brings a potent
mix of entrepreneurial vision, brand experience, and comfort with the venture
community required to accelerate Zmags as it expands its horizons in serving
the world's top brands and retailers. Today Zmags is setting forth in an
exciting new direction - one based on a firm foundation of success - and
there is no one who is better suited to lead the company at this time than
Michael."
"Given the unprecedented speed of change affecting the e-commerce
landscape from smart phones, tablets, and social media, we continue to see
leading global marketers struggle with how to respond effectively. There is a
great deal of noise in the marketplace about how brands can tap into these
explosive markets, but virtually no one has emerged to offer brands something
that actually works, until now. Zmags, under Michael's leadership, provides
an important answer that global brands are looking for to engage - truly
engage - with their customers across all these platforms," said Kim Wiencken,
a partner at NorthCap Partners and an investor in Zmags. "This is an exciting
time for the entire industry and I'm looking forward to watching Michael's -
and Zmags' - continued success."
Schreck was most recently CEO and president of Corrective Solutions, one
of the country's leading business services and government services companies.
Schreck expanded its government-and-merchant client base nationally to
include some of the largest retailers in the country, including: Wal-Mart,
Target, CVS, Kroger, Nordstrom and nearly 150 District Attorneys across 20
states. Previously, Schreck was a co-founder and a general partner at General
Catalyst Partners and helped build several companies from inception,
including m-Qube, Upromise, and SmartBargains as well as serving on the board
of CoreMetrics. Collectively these companies were acquired for over $1
Billion by VeriSign, SLM, GSI Commerce, and IBM respectively.
Schreck earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BA from
Brigham Young University. Schreck served as a strategy consultant at McKinsey
& Company and Monitor Company after graduation. Schreck currently serves on a
number of private boards and the Presidential Advisory Council at Brigham
Young University.
About Zmags
Zmags delivers an on-demand, rich media merchandising and analytics
platform to 3,000 of the world's most progressive brands and retailers. The
Company's SaaS service enables its clients to design and deliver personalized
interactive online catalogs and digital magazines that dramatically increase
shopper engagement and conversion rates across virtually any mobile device or
social media - whether on an iPad, iPhone, browser, or within Facebook.
End-users who engage with brands via the Zmags digital experience are twice
as likely to convert from prospects to buyers versus other e-commerce
channels. Zmags, based in Boston with offices in London, Copenhagen, and Los
Angeles, boasts a client base of a "who's-who" of retailers, e-commerce,
technology leaders, and global brands. Current customers include: 40% of
apparel companies and over 20% of retailers listed on the Fortune 500 and 55%
of automotive firms and 60% of business services organizations from the
Global 100. Its private equity backers include both European and North
American sources. For more information, please visit www.zmags.com
About Open View
OpenView Venture Partners is an expansion stage venture capital fund with
a focus on high-growth software, Internet, and technology-enabled companies.
Through its staff of seasoned operating executives, who collectively bring
several decades of technology and management experience to the firm, OpenView
is able to help portfolio companies with quickly ramping up Product,
Go-To-Market, and Organizational and Operational functions to best practice
levels. The firm was founded in 2006 and has a total capital under management
of approximately $240 million. OpenView Venture Partners is based in Boston
and invests on a worldwide basis.
About NorthCap Partners
NorthCap Partners is a Scandinavian focused venture capital company
headquartered in Denmark. NorthCap Partners is formed by a team of
experienced professionals with a strong track record of developing technology
businesses.
NorthCap Partners have strong and well-tested competencies in all
essential areas of building successful technology businesses including:
- Internationalization strategy and execution - Recruiting world-class teams - Structuring partnership deals - Sales strategy and operation - Market intelligence and Technology trends Contact: Lisa Mokaba InkHouse for Zmags zmags@inkhouse.net +1-781-791-4570
Zmags, Content. Commerce. Intelligence. Reimagined. and Zmags Publicator
are trademarks of Zmags in the United States and other countries. All other
trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
.
Tags: Boston, Massachusetts, May 24, Zmags