Social network eyes agency ahead of Europe expansion

a reflection of the agency's work.

He said: "We only have representation in the UK and we need at least 15
different countries covered as we grow in Europe. The review is not a
reaction to Ad2One's work with us, but we are looking to take on up to
five different agencies."

Eyres confirmed as many as 15 companies were involved in the ongoing
pitch process, including Ad2One, and that a final decision is expected
in about six weeks.

The review comes as LinkedIn makes significant appointments within its
European operation.

"We haven't had an office in the UK before and when I was appointed in
December, I was the first employee outside the US," said Eyres. "Our
focus now is on Europe, especially from a commercial standpoint."

The US business had 67 employees a year ago, but now has 230 and is
looking to hire 150 in the next year, although Eyres could not predict
how many of those would be in the UK.

Eyres added: "LinkedIn appears to be much larger than it is, but it's in
a growth phase. We're concentrating on keeping the integrity of the
product and tremendous culture of the company."

The European sales director will be responsible for driving business
across LinkedIn's four main revenue streams while working alongside the
company's new media agencies.

As well as traditional online advertising, revenues are generated from
personal and corporate subscriptions to premium services and job
postings.

Yesterday (Monday), LinkedIn announced the launch of mobile services
that enable users to access the service on iPhones, BlackBerry devices
and web-enabled wireless phones.