We reported at the end of the year that Yell is moving in a new strategic direction. This week, the Yellow Pages publisher announced the appointment of Matt Anderson as its new chief strategy and business development officer. Anderson has previous experience as a partner in the consumer media and digital division of Booz & Co.
“Matt played an instrumental role while working at Booz on the development of Yell’s new business strategy and was closely involved in brokering relationships with new partners including Bazaarvoice and Netbiscuits as well as our acquisition of Znode,” said Yell CEO Mike Pocock in a statement.
Anderson will focus on building more global and strategic partnerships for Yell. In addition, he will work closely with Yell’s digital team to develop new products and solutions, and to incubate new businesses with global potential. He will be based in Yell’s Houston office, which is becoming a key location for the U.K.-based publisher. Pocock also hails from Houston.
During its investor relations call last month, Pocock said that Yell’s digital directory business is seeing declines due to the increase of players in the market. However, Yell has seen a continued interest among its clients in digital services, particularly websites and online search. Yell’s digital services offering saw an 11 percent growth in Q1, particularly in the U.S., which offset declines in Internet Yellow Pages.
Anderson’s presence is key to growing digital services. Previously, he developed robust strategies in industries experiencing structural uncertainty and change. He is also recognized as an expert speaker and media commentator on dynamic digital strategies. Since Pocock became CEO in 2010, Yell has seen significant senior leadership turnover. Most recently, Yellowbook CEO Joe Walsh and Yell Group online head Mark Canon have left the company.