SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Following three months of robust activity -- the appointment of Si TV founder Jeff Valdez as chairman of the board, John Abbott as CEO and Mike Matte as CFO -- Quepasa Corporation (NASDAQ:QPSA), one of the largest, bicultural, Latino online communities, today announced the hiring of veteran technology executive Louis Bardov as chief technology officer. Concurrently, new media experts Kevin Hartz and Keith Rabois have been brought aboard as Internet consultants whose purview will include the company's flagship venture, Quepasa.com.
Quepasa Corp CEO John C. Abbot stated, "We are extremely impressed with Louis' experience in developing and managing a leading consumer Internet business. His background will be invaluable as we seek to enhance Quepasa's technical capabilities. Given their industry expertise, both Kevin and Keith will be critical in complementing Louis' work, ensuring the success of all of our Internet initiatives." While managing its technology center in Hermosillo, Mexico, Bardov will be responsible for relaunching and improving performance of the Quepasa.com website, which will emphasize social networking and creative multimedia content. Bardov is a focused, highly technical leader with over 21 years' experience in software development and technology management. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of software development, customer care and customer retention at Match.com. Having started as its VP of Internet development in 2001, Bardov played a lead role in taking Match.com from a small startup to a household brand name.
"I am excited about the opportunity to join Quepasa as chief technology officer," said Bardov. "The Latino online market remains underserved, and I look forward to helping create a world-class social network site at Quepasa." Hartz is co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite.com, the leading online event registration service. He was previously co-founder and CEO of Xoom Corporation, a money transfer company providing service throughout Latin America and the world, whose investors include Sequoia Capital, NEA and Stanford University. Prior to Xoom he co-founded ConnectGroup, a start-up providing high-speed Internet access to the hotel industry, which was acquired by Lodgenet in 1998. Hartz, an alumnus of Stanford and Oxford Universities, has been an early-stage investor and advisor to startups such as PayPal, Geni.com, Friendster, Flixster.com and Trulia.
Rabois serves as vice president, strategy & business development for Slide, the word's largest application and widget developer for social networks, reaching an audience of 180 million unique visitors per month. Under his leadership, Slide has become the leading application developer on Facebook. Prior to Slide, he was vice president of business & corporate development at LinkedIn following high-level posts at PayPal and the global hedge fund Clarium Capital Management. An early investor in YouTube, Rabois currently serves as a director of Yelp, Vendio, Xoom and FanIQ. He is a graduate of both Stanford University and Harvard Law School.
"The addition of these three new team players to Que Pasa, is an endorsement of the saying "Bet on the Jockey, not on the horse." Their technical experience will be invaluable in enhancing Que Pasa's new creative direction, as we continue to target Americans 2.0 (a.k.a. the Latino marketplace), commented Que Pasa chairman Jeff Valdez.
About Quepasa Corporation Quepasa Corporation (NASDAQ:QPSA), headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona (with offices in Miami and Mexico), owns Quepasa.com, one of the world's largest, bicultural, Latino online communities committed to providing entertaining, enriching, and empowering products and services. The website serves its users in the U.S. and Latin America in both Spanish and English.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements of Quepasa Corporation Statements in this press release that refer to plans and expectations for the future are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause future results to differ materially from historical results, or from results or outcomes currently expected or sought by the Company. In addition to the Risk Factors described in Item 1 of the Company's Form 10-KSB, as amended, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, these factors include, but are not limited to, the possibility of liability for information displayed or accessed via the Company's website and for other commerce-related activities; competition in the operation of websites and in the provision of information retrieval services; changing laws, third party databases and computer systems; competition from traditional media companies; new technologies that could block the Company's ability to advertise; and, with respect to the matters described in this release, the success of the Company's new senior management team.
Media contacts: Ron Hofmann / Larry Winokur
B|W|R Public Relations
(310) 550-7776
/ Investor relations contact: Mike Matte, Chief Financial Officer
Quepasa Corporation
(480) 348-2665
DATASOURCE: Quepasa Corporation CONTACT: media, Ron Hofmann, , or Larry Winokur, , both of B-W-R Public Relations, +1-310-550-7776, for Quepasa Corporation; or investors, Mike Matte, Chief Financial Officer of Quepasa Corporation, +1-480-348-2665 Web site: http://www.quepasa.com/
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