August 2008
Friendster, Inc. (www.friendster.com
Most recently, Kimber was the regional managing director of South Asia at Google, where he successfully led business operations and strategic partnerships across the region. Some of Kimber’s notable accomplishments included dramatically increasing Google’s revenue in the Asia Pacific region, opening offices in Singapore and Auckland, and rapidly growing Google’s Australian and Korean businesses. Kimber has a deep understanding of the Asia Pacific region, experience in consumer Internet monetization and strategy, and a notable track record of managing international operations.
Prior to Google, Kimber was the CEO for FirstDirect Bank in the UK, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, the world’s largest banking group. Kimber previously served as global head of eMarketing and CEO of HSBC Internet Payment at HSBC Bank USA. Additional experience includes roles as head of personal eBusiness at HSBC, founder and managing director at HSBC InvestDirect, associate director at Westpac Banking Corp., and other important positions at leading banking establishments.
“Friendster is growing at an enormous rate in Asia Pacific and is clearly leading the competition. I believe this is partly because the Internet is transforming the lives of everyone, and it will probably become one of the greatest liberators of our time,” said Kimber. “Utilizing the Internet to connect to your friends is one of its greatest benefits, and is changing the way relationships work globally. With more than 75 million users, it is clear that Friendster has already made a dramatic impact. I look forward to growing our business further as we continue our global growth and strong focus on Asia.”
Friendster recently raised $20 million in financing led by new investor IDG Ventures, a global network of venture capital funds. The new funding will enable Friendster to extend its leadership position in the Asia Pacific region and continue to grow and monetize its global user base. IDG Ventures is a strong addition to Friendster’s investor portfolio, with more than 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of six independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. In addition to IDG Ventures, all current institutional investors made additional investments as part of this round of funding – Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and Founders Fund. Joining Friendster’s board from IDG is Butch Reddy, general partner.
“With the addition of Richard, Butch and the new funding, Friendster will continue to expand its worldwide footprint and take advantage of its leadership position in Asia Pacific,” said Russ Siegelman, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and chairman of the board for Friendster. The Asia Pacific region is an important and fast-growing region where 38 percent of the world’s Internet users are located.* “To continue to grow and strengthen this position, Friendster plans to leverage the new funding to focus on user growth, even greater user engagement and monetization, all through new features, new offerings, localization and marketing, for the benefit of over 75 million users worldwide.”
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