Luxembourg, July 1, 2008 - Skype today announced that it has named Scott Durchslag Chief Operating Officer. Scott brings 20 years of experience from Fortune 100 technology corporations, start-ups, and professional services to this newly created role. His post is effective immediately and he will report to Josh Silverman, Skype's president, who was recently appointed to the role March 24, 2008.
Scott was previously with Motorola where he spent 5 years on the top management team of the $25B Mobile Devices Business. Most recently, he was Corporate Vice-President of Global Product & Experience Invention, where he led product strategy, innovation, intellectual property, design, user interfaces, consumer experiences (music, video, imaging, productivity and mobile internet), partnerships, product marketing, and customer care. Previously, Scott was General Manager of South Asia where he built the region with the highest margins. He joined Motorola in 2002 as Chief Strategy Officer of the Personal Communications Sector, where he architected the turnaround strategy that doubled market share and revenues between 2002 and 2007.
"Innovation has always been a hallmark of Skype, and I want to innovate not only with the products we bring to market, but also with how we bring them to market," said Silverman. "Scott has an outstanding track record and will be able to help us apply best practices in staying ever more customer-focused and nimble, even while becoming larger."
Skype is the leader in online communications, revolutionizing the way people communicate through free and easy voice and video calling. The company has grown significantly since it was founded in 2003, and was acquired by eBay Inc. in September 2005. Today, the company has more than 309 million registered users around the world. In Q1 2008, Skype posted total revenues of $126 million, an increase of 61 percent over the prior year, while delivering a fifth consecutive quarter of profitability. Skype announced that since the company was launched in 2003, people around the world have talked to one another for more than 100 billion minutes using free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls.
"I believe in Skype not only because I've been a user since the early days, but also because I'm convinced the opportunities ahead for Skype are tremendous given how the world is changing," said Durchslag. "Skype combines superior multimedia communications technology with making the world a better place by cost-effectively connecting consumers on a global scale, as well as enabling smaller businesses to grow without the unnecessary fuel consumption, costs and carbon pollution generated by needless travel. It is truly a privilege to join the Skype team and help to build a great company."
At Motorola, Scott led an 800 person global organization with sites across the U.S., Europe and Asia. He championed delivering simple, rich consumer experiences and building high tier co-created multimedia devices through partnerships he forged with Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Kodak. Prior to Motorola, Scott was involved in Grand Central, a Silicon Valley enterprise software startup funded by Benchmark Capital, and he was one of the early thought leaders on web services as a Managing Director at The Chasm Group. Scott started his career at McKinsey & Company where he served American and Asian technology clients for eight years in their New York and Greater China offices. Scott was elected a partner in only four years and launched or led several international locations. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago and received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
About Skype
Millions of people every day use Skype software to communicate with others through free voice and video calls, as well as instant messages. Skype's 309 million registered users have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Many people also use SkypeOut™ or one of our global subscriptions to save money when calling landlines and mobiles at home and abroad. No longer bound to the computer, Skype conversations can also be had on a broad range of cordless handsets, mobile devices and other Skype Certified™ hardware. We've made it easy for Skype users to list and recommend their favorite local businesses to the rest of the community with SkypeFind. And even when you're fluent in Skype, there is always more to discover: hundreds of third-party developers have created software plug-ins that make Skype even more useful. All of this makes Skype the leading global internet communications company.
Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY), and you can learn more and get Skype at www.skype.com.
Access to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype and all Skype Certified devices and accessories. Skype is not a replacement for your traditional telephone service and cannot be used for emergency calling.
Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the "S" symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.
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