In the face of rapid expansion, Avego adds social networking executive to management team.
KINSALE, Ireland – 1 June 2012 – Burkhard Blum, who previously served as the COO to XING, the first social networking company to go public, and Europe’s largest social network for business users, has joined Avego as Chief Operating Officer.
“Burkhard is a brilliant operations expert and savvy business leader,” said Sean O’Sullivan, Avego’s co-founder and Managing Director. “He has a great track record in growing technology companies in the flourishing social networking arena.”
“Avego grew by 100% in 2011 and we’re growing by between 50-100% in 2012,” said Richard Bryce, Avego co-founder and Executive Vice-President. “We look to leverage Burkhard’s operational strengths in our continued growth.”
Blum will also be joining Avego’s board of directors. Prior to his appointment as COO at XING, Burkhard served as the in-house counsel and director of mergers & acquisitions at XING. Blum has also served as corporate counsel at Mobilcom AG, a German telecommunications company, and co-founder of Tredix and basicPro, start-ups in Germany. Blum has been a venture partner with Bandwith Ventures, and was a co-founder of the Dublin-based Startup Bootcamp. Blum studied law at the University of Kiel, and received an LL.M. degree from the University of Cape Town. He has been authorized to practice law since 2002.