26 May 2016 07:00
26 May 2016
FastForward Innovations Limited
("FastForward" or the "Company")
FastForward: Investee company update
FastForward notes that its investee company, Yooya, in which it has a 15% interest, has made a significant addition to its executive team.
The company, Yooya, today announced that it has hired its first Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Mr John Steere. FastForward CEO Lorne Abony, remarked "Hiring a CMO is a major milestone for Yooya and positions the company for their future growth as they begin to implement the next wave of their strategy".
Lorne added, "With a CMO on board, the company can begin to strategically focus on monetization and partnerships with major global brands who want to reach Chinese consumers, John Steere has strong experience in the region and together with CEO Rick Myers, we anticipate great things".
The Yooya release read as follows:
[SHANGHAI, CHINA, May 26, 2016] Yooya has appointed John Steere as the company's Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. Steere returns to Greater China where he has a fifteen-year track record in marketing and advertising agency management.
Working closely with Yooya CEO Rick Myers, Steere will join the company's leadership team and be responsible for leading Yooya's sales and marketing efforts across Greater China and Asia Pacific.
"John brings tremendous China marketing experience to his leadership of the Yooya team," said Myers. "He will play a vital role in expanding Yooya's partnerships with leading brands and agencies in Greater China and across the region."
John has had a long career in consumer and shopper marketing, digital, and strategic planning. He first arrived in Chongqing in 1984, and was most recently Regional MD for Asia Pacific at Vivid Brand, a leading shopper marketing agency that was purchased by Publicis Groupe in 2015. Prior to that, Steere was CMO at McCann Worldwide Greater China, as well as MD for Momentum China. John has held various management roles throughout China and Asia on both the client and agency sides, with Saatchi & Saatchi, Visa International, Gartner, and others.
Steere's career successes include working with local and multinational brands to increase engagement with consumers in China and Asia Pacific. Steere was born in Vietnam and is of Chinese and American ancestry.
John Possman, Chairman of Yooya, commented, "With the technology, distribution and content partnerships we already have in place, the vital next step for us was to bring on Steere, a seasoned China professional, to further drive our brand and sales efforts."
John Steere said, "I'm delighted to return to China, home to the largest and most dynamic online video market in the world and nearly 500 million avid video consumers. I'm excited to be part of the Yooya mission to deliver to brands and advertisers the most effective solutions available for connecting with this amazing audience."
About Yooya: Yooya is one of China's fastest growing online video networks and provides comprehensive content distribution, rights management, and video-based advertising solutions.
Yooya's one-stop, technology-driven approach to online video in China delivers broader distribution, better data & analytics, superior monetization, and more effective video advertising solutions to the company's clients.
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For further information please visit www.fstfwd.co or contact:
FastForward Innovations Limited Tel: +44 1481 810 100 Elysium Fund Management Limited
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nomad) Tel: +44 (0) 207 628 3396 James Biddle / Michael Cornish
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited (Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 207 469 0930 Guy Miller / Lucy Williams