- Kenny brings global and digital marketing experience to help scale core businesses in enterprise cloud computing, and digital media and marketing
CAMBRIDGE, MA – July 28, 2010 – Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM, news, filings), the leading provider of cloud optimization services, announced today that David W. Kenny, 48, will become President of Akamai, effective September 7, 2010. Kenny will be responsible for leading Akamai’s business operations, including the company’s product groups; global sales, services, and marketing; engineering; and networks and operations. Kenny will report to CEO Paul Sagan, who has served as Akamai’s President since 1999 and chief executive since 2005, and who is a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Kenny has also served as a Director of Akamai since July 2007, and he will remain on the company’s Board of Directors.
In addition to being one of the most respected executives in the field of digital media and advertising, Kenny has extensive experience as a senior management consultant to companies in software, financial services, and packaged goods. Most recently, Kenny was Managing Partner of VivaKi, and a member of the Management Board of Publicis Groupe SA, the global marketing services holding company and parent company of VivaKi.
“Akamai has experienced tremendous growth, and we see significant global opportunities to increase and diversify our business. As a result, we have been looking for ways to expand our successful management team to capitalize on the significant opportunities for cloud computing, digital media and online advertising,” Sagan explained. “We are fortunate that an executive of David’s caliber has agreed to join our team. We have known David for a number of years, and I am confident that he will be a vital contributor to Akamai’s continued success. His global experience and executive capabilities will help to propel Akamai into its next phase of growth, and I look forward to partnering with him for many years to come.”
“Akamai plays such an important role in the very fabric of the Internet, and I have long admired the company’s talents and technological capabilities,” Kenny said. “I was honored to be asked by Paul to help Akamai execute against its many opportunities for continued growth and innovation, and it is a distinct privilege to join the Akamai team.”
Before joining Publicis, Kenny served as CEO of Digitas, Inc., which was acquired by Publicis Groupe SA in 2007. In addition to serving on the boards of Akamai and Publicis, Kenny is Director of The Corporate Executive Board, which provides research and analysis on corporate strategy and operations.
Prior to 1997, when he joined the firm that became Digitas LLC, Kenny was a senior partner at Bain & Company. He holds a B.S. from the General Motors Institute (Kettering University) and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is also a member of the board of Teach For America.
“Our management team has never been stronger,” said Akamai Board Chairman George H. Conrades. “Under Paul’s leadership and with the addition of David, we look forward to the results of their collaboration in achieving the significant opportunities ahead.”
Kenny’s appointment as an Akamai officer, as well as his continued service as an Akamai director, was affirmed by the company’s Board of Directors. At the same time, the Board approved that it will begin a process to bring on an additional independent director, returning the Board’s membership to 12.
About Akamai
Akamai® provides market-leading, cloud-based services for optimizing Web and mobile content and applications, online HD video, and secure e-commerce. Combining highly-distributed, energy-efficient computing with intelligent software, Akamai’s global platform is transforming the cloud into a more viable place to inform, entertain, advertise, transact and collaborate. To learn how the world’s leading enterprises are optimizing their business in the cloud, please visit www.akamai.com and follow @Akamai on Twitter.
The release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai’s management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the expected start date of Mr. Kenny’s employment and market opportunities open to Akamai. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, an unexpected delay in the start of Mr. Kenny’s employment or a determination by the company or him not to go forward with the relationship; incorrect assumptions about growth in the markets Akamai addresses or will seek to address in the future; and other factors that are discussed in Akamai’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.
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