Kinetic Social Names Former Merkle Exec Matt Gilbert CEO as Company Grows Ad Business Across Both Social and Open Web

NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired) — 07/13/16 — Kinetic Social, a leading social marketing services and technology company, today announced the appointment of digital marketing veteran Matt Gilbert as CEO as well as to the company–s Board of Directors.

Gilbert–s experience includes an 18-year track record of increasing company market share and profitability in both the digital advertising and marketing cloud industries. He helped pioneer online marketing that leveraged audience data to deliver personalized campaigns and has extensive experience with scaling data driven digital marketing businesses. He arrives at Kinetic from 500friends, a leading SaaS omni-channel loyalty and lifecycle marketing solution for ecommerce, omni-channel retail, and CPG brands that he co-founded in 2011. As COO, Gilbert built the business to millions in annual revenue and was instrumental in negotiating 500Friends– sale to Merkle in 2014. He then became part of Merkle–s leadership team following the acquisition, serving as SVP & GM of the Loyalty Solutions Group.

“The shift from cookie-based advertising to identity based advertising has created a fundamental need for better technology and services in both the walled gardens and the open web,” Gilbert said. “Ultimately, the companies that will win in this category will demonstrate measurable competencies in helping marketers navigate the complexities of developing, delivering, measuring, and optimizing personalized campaigns that deliver superior client value. Kinetic has built the tools and the team that make this possible for brands and agencies. I–m thrilled to take on the leadership role at Kinetic and I believe we are poised for dramatic growth as we continue to earn the trust of our clients by providing the technology and expertise required to capitalize on the opportunity to reach audiences with personalized content at scale.”

Gilbert–s career has also included leadership positions at Webloyalty.com, IAC/InterActive Corp., Ask Jeeves, Inc, and Excite@Home. He will be based out of Kinetic–s San Francisco office.

“The board was very deliberate in its search for Kinetic–s next leader with a focus on identifying a candidate with a proven track record in the digital media category and a history of scaling fast-growing advertising and marketing technology companies,” said Jack Wyant, Managing Director, Blue Chip Venture Company. “Matt is a world class leader who has a deep passion for the industry, clear know-how, and the intelligence and relationships to take the company to the next level. Our clients and partners will benefit greatly with Matt at the helm of Kinetic.”

Gilbert–s appointment comes amid a period of steady growth for Kinetic, which saw gross profit more than double in 2015 while staff expanded to more than 90 in the U.S. and Canada. Under Gilbert–s leadership, the company plans to continue developing solutions to a brand and agency client base that is increasingly looking to activate social media to reach consumers.

Kinetic is a technology enabled full service provider of social advertising solutions across all leading platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Our comprehensive suite of services was developed for marketers seeking to maximize their return across social channels and includes campaign design, delivery, measurement, and optimization. Kinetic is based in New York with offices in Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco. More at .

WIT Strategy, for Kinetic Social
Rich Cherecwich
774.254.0952

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