CareerBuilder.com Appoints Matt Ferguson Chief Executive Officer
CHICAGO, June 9, 2004 - CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s largest online job network with more than 16 million unique visitors and over 400,000 jobs, announced its Board of Directors has appointed president Matt Ferguson to the additional role of chief executive officer. Ferguson, 37, is replacing Bob Montgomery who will continue to serve on the Board of Directors as its newly appointed chairman.
Strong leadership drove CareerBuilder.com to the number one position in online recruitment this year with the company outpacing the industry in traffic, job postings and revenue growth. The CareerBuilder Network has consistently attracted the highest amount of true job seeker traffic every month with a 155 percent increase year over year in April, according to the latest report from comScore Media Metrix. At the same time, CareerBuilder.com increased its job postings by 52 percent and nearly doubled its applications delivered to employers.
In the first quarter of 2004, the CareerBuilder Network increased its revenue 66 percent year over year and 25 percent over the previous quarter. This builds on the upward trend seen in 2003 when the CareerBuilder Network increased its annual revenue by 48 percent.
As CEO and president of CareerBuilder.com, Ferguson will continue to lead the daily operations and growth of the company, overseeing all marketing, finance, sales, information technology, product development, integrated media and business development.
Ferguson first joined the company two and a half years ago following CareerBuilder.com’s acquisition of Headhunter.net, where he had been serving as senior vice president of business development since 2000. Prior to that, Ferguson developed strategic partnerships for DigitalWork.com. He also started two entrepreneurial ventures, and practiced law at Baker & McKenzie. Ferguson holds a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Northwestern University.
"The online recruitment industry has experienced a major shift in competitive positioning with CareerBuilder.com moving into the lead," said Montgomery. "All of our efforts to expand operations, increase our user base and capture more market share are pointing to this moment when we will bring the company to the next level. As a proven leader, keen strategist and skilled businessman, Matt is the person we want taking over the helm to drive profitability and sustainable growth across our vast network."
CareerBuilder.com combines the distribution power of online and print through affiliations with more than 130 newspapers of owners Tribune Company, Gannett and Knight Ridder. Including its newspaper affiliations, CareerBuilder.com powers the career sites for more than 350 partners with over 1,200 Web sites reaching national, local, industry and niche audiences. These partners include leading portals such as America Online and MSN.
About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is a leading online source for maximizing recruitment dollars and optimizing job searches with superior products, customer service and technology. With a unique combination of national, local and niche audiences, CareerBuilder.com makes it easy for recruiters to reach the most qualified candidates with industry-leading market research data and support. Job seekers can search for the right job from more than 400,000 continuously updated postings, representing more than 25,000 of the top employers in virtually every industry, field and location. Together with Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), and Knight Ridder, Inc. (NYSE:KRI), CareerBuilder.com includes the Web’s top newspaper sites – the most trusted employment sources in recruiting. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, call 888-670-TEAM or visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.
CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:
Jennifer Grasz
(P) 773-527-1164
(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com
