Ex uSwitch CTO to build on innovation at leading shopping comparison site

London , May 20th 2009:Kelkoo, Europe’s leading shopping comparison site, has announced that Richard Stables has been appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Richard will be responsible for the profitability and day-to-day running of Kelkoo’s operations and will report into the board of directors at Jamplant, the private equity firm that bought Kelkoo from Yahoo! in November 2008.

Richard joins Kelkoo from uSwitch.com where he held the role of CTO and Director of Search. He was responsible for changing the working practices of the company; introducing an agile development methodology and also putting search engine marketing and optimisation at the centre of uSwitch’s strategy. He led the technical team in delivering a number of key business projects, including car insurance, life insurance, home insurance and business energy services. He also oversaw the redesign of the website.

Prior to this, Richard was instrumental in the turnaround of the Los Angeles?based internet company, Stamps.com, and led the development of its very popular PhotoStamps service. He also built up a wealth of experience of advising high growth internet businesses during his time at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
 
Richard Stables said of his new appointment; “Being purchased by Jamplant has allowed for some high-impact investment into Kelkoo, giving it an exciting future providing sustained value growth to our users, merchants and partners in the internet retail market. I am confident these high levels of investment will pay dividends in the short and medium term. I look forward to leading the Kelkoo team as we innovate and expand throughout Europe and worldwide, building on our trusted model of connecting buyers and sellers online.”