AOL Appoints Ex-Bebo Chief to Head Up European Ad Sales

AOL has announced the appointment of Bebo VP and Managing Director Kate Burns to head up its European sales operation. As a result, Brendan Condon, who currently looks after the company’s Platform-A advertising division outside of the U.S., will be heading back to New York, where his next position will be determined.

In her new position, Burns is responsible for AOL’s ad operations in nine European markets, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K.

Although Burns’ role is an AOL-wide one, a spokesperson for the company confirmed that she will be responsible for Platform-A’s European business, assuming the current structure remains intact following the 100-day business review currently being conducted by new CEO, Tim Armstrong.

Interestingly, the press release announcing Burns’ appointment makes no mention of Platform-A by name, instead referring to her responsibility for the Advertising.com ad network. However, the spokesperson said this had no bearing on the likely future of the firm’s ad business, and that Platform-A “is not dying a death.”

Prior to her role at Bebo, Burns spent time at Google as Director, UK, Ireland and Benelux, and also at Dailymotion, Altavista and Doubleclick. She will now report to Jeff Levick, who was hired from Google to fill the role of Head Of Advertising and Strategy for AOL in April.