Bebo appoints former Google chief

Bebo Europe has appointed Kate Burns to the newly created role of vice president and managing director. The move follows a radical restructure at parent company AOL.

Burns, who will join Bebo on August 4, will be responsible for Bebo operations in the UK, Ireland and Poland. She will also oversee the expansion of Bebo into Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands in the next quarter.

She joins the company from Dailymotion, the video website, where she has been managing director for just four months. Burns was previously managing director for the US, Ireland and Benelux at Google but left last year after six years. She was the internet company’s first employee outside of the US.

She was also involved in the launch of ad network DoubleClick and search engine Alta Vista in the UK.

AOL acquired Bebo to underpin the growth of its advertising operation Platform A and ramp up the share of online ad revenue. On June 30, it was revealed that AOL is placing its ad-targeting business, Platform A, at the centre of its commercial operations.

AOL UK is forming into a three-division structure incorporating the ad platform, the publishing platform and the people network, following its acquisition of Bebo for £417m in March. Michael Steckler, managing director of AOL UK, will head up Platform A’s UK business.