Woodside replaces Burns as Google managing director

by Mark Banham, Brand Republic 11-Sep-06, 14:00

LONDON - Dennis Woodside has been appointed managing director of Google's operations in the UK, Ireland and Benelux, replacing the newly departed Kate Burns.

Woodside joined Google three years ago and has most recently been working to establish its presence in Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. He was previously director of emerging markets at the search engine giant.

Nikesh Arora, vice-president of European operations for Google, said: "The UK online market is growing very quickly. Dennis will be working closely with the advertising industry to help British business make the most of this opportunity."

Woodside said: "I am looking forward to working with the team. Together we can help build search marketing in the UK -- for the benefit of advertisers and users. I'm also excited about pioneering new, innovative forms of advertising in these markets -- such as mobile and click-to-play video ads. Both have huge potential."

Burns left Google in July after being with the company since 2001.

She was the first Google employee appointed outside of the US. Prior to joining Google, she was pan-European sales director at Altavista.

Last week, Burns joined digital media house AdLink as head of search. She will work across the UK and internationally to evaluate the company's potential to enter the search market.

Burns will deal with advertising agencies, existing clients and customers to access the company's opportunities within search.

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