CEO Resigns at Ad Pepper USA

The head of U.S. operations for European online ad network ad pepper media has resigned.

Glenn Klepchick, who oversaw ad pepper’s establishment of its first four American sales offices as chief executive officer, is leaving to pursue other interests, according to the Amsterdam-based company.

“We are grateful to Glenn for his contribution to ad pepper media, helping us to achieve a successful launch in the world’s largest — and toughest — online market,” said ad pepper media International chief executive Ulrich Schmidt. “We wish Glenn the best of good fortune in his future endeavors, applying his creativity, and his knowledge of the online industry, to new challenges.”

The firm’s U.S. operations will continue to be run out of its New York offices, and will be overseen by chief operating officer Louis J. Pereira and chief financial officer Charles Harrison.

Spokespeople declined to discuss whether the company was undergoing additional restructuring — beyond Pereira and Harrison’s new duties — in its U.S. division, or specifics of how that unit had been performing.

Ad pepper serves some 850 million ad impressions per month for about 500 sites, but it is not known how much of its sales come from U.S. operations.

The news comes as online ad networks are at something of a pivotal moment, gearing up to weather several more months of a harsh ad spending climate. Market leaders Yahoo and DoubleClick are predicting one to two more quarters of low online ad spending, while several ad networks like Engage have been struggling with flagging valuations and waning revenues — and face the prospect of a cash crunch if ad spending doesn’t pick up before long.