RESTON, VA., Mon., Mar. 4, 2002-CareerBuilder, Inc., Knight-Ridder, Inc.
(NYSE: KRI) and Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) today named Robert M. Montgomery
as the new chief executive officer of CareerBuilder. Montgomery was the
former chief executive officer of HeadHunter.net from 1999 until it was
acquired by CareerBuilder in November 2001. Also joining the team are
Matt Ferguson, who was named CareerBuilder's chief operating officer,
and Mary Delaney, who will serve as its chief sales officer. Matt and
Mary are also former HeadHunter employees.
"I'm excited about the opportunity and committed to providing the
best user experience to job seekers and the most valuable recruitment
solutions to employers," said Montgomery. "In a very short period
of time, CareerBuilder has grown from a start-up company to one of the
top online recruitment sources in the nation with great name recognition.
We're going to continue that momentum and expand our share of this growing
market."
Montgomery emphasized CareerBuilder's advantage of having strong partnerships
with local newspaper publishers across the country. Last Fall, more than
40 Knight Ridder and Tribune daily newspapers launched new Sunday help-wanted
sections branded 'CareerBuilder'. Across the country, CareerBuilder brings
both print and online recruitment solutions to job seekers and employers.
"CareerBuilder and its newspaper partners will continue to outperform
the national job boards with more local jobs and the best local talent
in the recruitment marketplace," Montgomery added.
During Montgomery's tenure at HeadHunter, its revenues grew from less
than $1 million to more than $50 million in 2001, prior to the CareerBuilder
acquisition. He led the company through its initial public offering in
August 1999, and helped it achieve profitability just 18 months later,
in the first quarter of 2001.
"As CEO of HeadHunter, Bob became the leading sales and marketing
executive in on-line recruiting. For 15 years he has been growing revenue
and market share for high tech companies and products, like Intercall,
Telecom USA and MCI," said Dan Finnigan, president of Knight Ridder
Digital. "Bob's energy and passion are contagious, and he has a laser-focused
vision on how we can quickly become the undisputed leader. It is going
to be a great pleasure to work with Bob as he leads CareerBuilder past
the competition."
Matt Ferguson joins Montgomery at CareerBuilder's chief operating officer.
Ferguson previously worked with Montgomery at HeadHunter, and then joined
CareerBuilder as its senior vice president of business and corporate development
following the company's acquisition of HeadHunter. He held a similar post
while at HeadHunter.
While at HeadHunter, Ferguson negotiated strategic partnerships with
companies such as Yahoo!, Lycos, and MSN. He also managed HeadHunter's
small business unit and created a career fair unit and a sponsorship sales
group.
Mary Delaney joins CareerBuilder as chief sales officer, responsible
for all of the company's sales efforts. Since January 2000, Delaney has
served as lead sales consultant to HeadHunter and CareerBuilder, overseeing
the sales integration efforts. She also helped design and implement a
new sales compensation plan, launched new vertical markets and redesigned
the sales process and training program.
"CareerBuilder has become one of the clear leaders in online recruitment,"
said David Hiller, president of Tribune Interactive. "Rob McGovern
founded and built a great company and Bob did the same at HeadHunter.
The merger brought together two strong teams and now Bob, Matt and Mary
will help lead these teams to the next level."
CareerBuilder is the recruiting source for connecting employers
with the right talent and professionals with the right jobs. CareerBuilder
attracts the most qualified candidates by reaching the best audiences
- in print and online, locally and nationally. In partnership with Tribune
Company (NYSE:TRB) and Knight-Ridder Inc. (NYSE: KRI), CareerBuilder provides
the most integrated print and online recruitment solutions available in
major markets throughout the United States, including CareerBuilder-branded
help wanted sections reaching more than 25 million people every Sunday.
With the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Miami Herald,
The San Jose Mercury News, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as many
other major metropolitan newspapers and local news and information sites
throughout the country, CareerBuilder provides more local jobs than any
other recruitment solution. For more information about CareerBuilder products
and services, call 888.670.TEAM or visit CareerBuilder at www.careerbuilder.com.
Knight Ridder (NYSE: KRI) is the nation's second-largest newspaper
publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 32
daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 8.4 million
daily and 12.3 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a
variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies.
The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital (http://www.knightridderdigital.com),
creates and maintains a variety of online services, including Real Cities
(www.RealCities.com), a national
network of city and regional destination sites in 58 U.S. markets. Knight
Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are located in San Jose, Calif.
TRIBUNE (NYSE: TRB) is one of the country's premier media companies,
operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing and on the Internet.
It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households, and is the only media
company with television stations, newspapers and Web sites in the nation's
top three markets. Tribune media span 23 major-market television stations,
including national superstation WGN-TV; 11 market-leading daily newspapers,
including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday; and news
and information Web sites in 18 of the nation's top 30 markets.