Former IRI / Nielsen Leader Named CEO of Leanplum

US-based customer engagement platform Leanplum has appointed former IRI and Nielsen CEO George Garrick as President and Chief Executive Officer, as co-founder Momchil Kyurkchiev becomes Chief Product Officer. The firm has also raised an extra $27m in a Series D funding.

Leanplum, which has additional offices across North America, Europe and Asia, uses data to understand users' needs, optimize engagement campaigns using multiple communications channels and deliver relevant experiences. The new Series D funding extension round was led by Norwest Venture Partners and Shasta Ventures, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Canaan and Launchub, bringing the company's total raised to date to more than $125m. It will be used to bolster Leanplum's product development and go-to-market efforts.

Garrick (pictured) was originally recruited by Dun and Bradstreet to turn around Nielsen's revenues and market share. He then spent more than fifteen years at IRI, latterly as CEO - North America, responsible for 4,000+ employees. During his time with the firm, he was based in London for eighteen months in the role of President, IRI Europe, tasked with launching services in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands. He has since served as CEO of a number of venture-backed growth companies in media, eCommerce, data/analytics, software/SaaS, and mobile. Kyurkchiev comments: 'George is the right leader for Leanplum. His strong management experience with companies at our stage and in our domain will be essential for Leanplum as we continue to drive growth and expand globally'.

Separately, the firm has appointed Sheri Huston as Chief Financial Officer. She previously held CFO positions at Comscore and LiquiBox, and senior financial leadership roles at Rockwell Automation and IRI.

Web site: www.leanplum.com .