OpenTable, Inc. Strengthens Management Team With Addition of Two Senior Executives
April 4, 2002
|
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (April 4, 2002) — OpenTable, Inc. (www.opentable.com), the leading provider of guest and table management systems to restaurants and free, online reservation to consumers, today announced the appointment of two senior executives, Joel Brown and Michael Dodson. Brown, with almost 20 years of technology management experience, including almost eight years at Intuit, joins OpenTable as senior vice president of operations. Michael Dodson will serve as OpenTable’s vice president of sales, bringing more than 14 years of sales and management experience from American Express.
“With more than 1,000 restaurant customers, OpenTable has already established itself as a major player. We were looking for heavy hitters to lead our operations and sales organizations to the next level of growth, and we were blown away by Joel’s and Mike’s track records,” said Thomas Layton, interim CEO of OpenTable. “At Intuit, Joel built or re-engineered several organizations, dramatically improving both the bottom line and customer satisfaction. At American Express, Mike transformed his region into the highest performing region in the country. We are looking forward to having them bring their experience and drive to OpenTable.”
Joel Brown to Lead OpenTable’s Operations Organization
As senior vice president of operations at OpenTable, Brown will lead the account management, customer support, implementation services, finance, and IT teams. Brown brings a wealth of experience to the position. As vice president and general manager at Intuit, Brown led the re-engineering of the Financial Supplies Group’s business operations, which radically improved customer satisfaction, marketing effectiveness and profitability for the $100 million division. He then built the Employer Services organization, which launched a revolutionary Internet-based payroll service for small businesses.
Most recently, Brown served as executive vice president of Charitableway, an application service provider linking businesses and the nonprofit sector. As executive vice president, he built and led the business operations, product management, customer service, charity relations and account management teams. Brown holds a BS in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Michael Dodson to Oversee Restaurant Sales
At OpenTable, Dodson will be responsible for growing revenue for the company by increasing sales in existing markets, expanding into new markets, and growing the sales team. Previously, as the vice president of the Establishment Services Division, Western Region at American Express, Dodson had responsibility for marketplace and merchant development for American Express card services across thirteen western states. He successfully developed and deployed market ownership strategies to recapture leadership positions in key industries and markets throughout the west, achieving a 36% increase in sales in one year. During his 14-year tenure at American Express, Dodson held positions of increasing responsibility in business and consumer product management, marketing, sales, business development, planning, and technology.
Most recently, Dodson served as a principal at The Destination Group, where he was responsible for asset management with a focus on sales and marketing strategies across The Destination Group’s network of investment companies. Dodson received a BS in Finance from Florida State University and an MBA from New York University's Stern School.
About OpenTable, Inc.
OpenTable makes dining out more delightful for diners and more profitable for restaurants. The company provides restaurants with incremental reservations, advanced marketing capabilities, and operational efficiency by providing a computerized reservation system that replaces the traditional pen-and-paper reservation book. All reservations -- whether online or over the telephone -- are entered into OpenTable’s system. The resulting customer database allows the restaurant to understand and segment its guests and conduct marketing programs based on guest preferences and dining histories.
Diners can go to www.opentable.com at any time to scan for available tables and instantly confirm a reservation. This free online reservation service eliminates the inconvenience of multiple telephone calls, busy signals, waiting on hold and restaurant answering machines. OpenTable extends the convenience of instant, 24by7 restaurant reservations to hotel concierges , travel agents and administrative assistants. The company works with many distribution partners, including American Express, Citysearch.com, Digital Cities, Zagat Survey, washingtonpost.com, the Washingtonian and Fodor’s.com.
Back to OpenTable News
|
|