In order to boost the company's B2B development strategy, Viadeo has named Katia Pharo as Chief Sales Officer. She has also joined the Viadeo Group's Executive Committee.

Katia Pharo, 42, has been appointed Chief Sales Officer for the Viadeo Group. In this new role she will be in charge of designing and implementing the company's international B2B sales strategy while other tasks include developing the following areas:

  • Hiring and Training solutions, consisting of three major product families: member base talent searching by recruiters (Viadeo Recruiter), job offer publications on the Viadeo site, and dedicated "Employer Branding" services;
  • Marketing and Advertising solutions, assisting the board in promoting marketing solutions to advertisers and media agencies.

Prior to this appointment, Katia had been the company's Hiring and Training Solutions Sales Director since 2007 and previously worked as Sales Director at Monster France.

"This year, B2B activities represent a major performance driver for the Group," Katia explained. "Our ambition for 2015 is to increase our market share in this area, notably by expanding our sales teams by 50%. Our "New Vision" positioning, combined with regular product innovations, represent two vital assets in helping us to maintain the positive momentum shown in 2014 and to accomplish our ambitious goals!"

Katia will report directly to Dan Serfaty, Viadeo's CEO and co-founder, who also offered his thoughts on the appointment: "This is a strategic move for the Group. The positive sales momentum we experienced in the second half of 2014 demonstrated the strong potential of our offers targeting companies - not only hiring and training services but also marketing/advertising solutions - and Katia's appointment demonstrates our desire to add further emphasis to this area of development. Her experience in the market and her knowledge of Viadeo represent key attributes that can play a big role in ensuring that our development strategy succeeds in this area and that we achieve our ambitious B2B goals."

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