LinkShare Appoints Cable Veteran as CEO

New York City-based affiliate marketing company LinkShare Corp. named cable veteran Jerome (Jerry) H. Kern as the company’s chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Kern, a LinkShare board member, is the former vice chairman of Telecommunications Inc. (TCI) and the architect of AT&T’s acquisition of TCI. Kern brings to LinkShare more than 20 years of deal-making experience in the broadband, entertainment and financial services industries–areas critical to the Web’s success as a marketing platform.

“The founders of LinkShare have created an extraordinary technology that enables merchants on the Web to partner with Web sites (affiliates) in any manner the parties may choose, and to do it simply,” said Kern. “LinkShare has an enormous opportunity to become a key facilitator for the growth of e-commerce, and the fact that Dell, Borders, 1-800-FLOWERS, and others are currently using their technology proves it.”

LinkShare captures affiliate data to determine and manage how commissions are parceled out to the sites involved, based on the agreements among the participants.

“Jerry shares our vision of the future of e-commerce and brings invaluable experience to LinkShare on the deal-making, financial and management fronts. He also brings valuable connections and leadership abilities that we will need to help us manage the explosive growth that has followed the success of our affiliate programs,” said LinkShare chairman and founder Stephen Messer.

Messer, who has been CEO, will continue as chairman and remain LinkShare’s e-commerce and technology visionary, while president and founder, Heidi Messer, will continue to broker business agreements along with Kern, and manage the company’s non-technology business operations, including sales and marketing.

LinkShare clients include Avon, Dell Computer, Borders, 1-800-FLOWERS, Cyberian Outpost, Virtual Vineyards and Omaha Steaks.