The battle for IYP (and local search) supremacy hinges on a number of factors. One of which is likely to be the acquisitions of lateral properties (i.e. RHD and Business.com).
So — we note with interest that former AOL chief Jon Miller and former Primedia chief Tom Rogers are on Idearc’s board, presumably to help evaluate growth strategies, including acquisitions for Idearc (and SuperPages.com). Miller is speaking at the Yellow Pages Association convention in April.
Miller, who joined the board in June, wasn’t especially focused on local at AOL, but brings a rich background to the table. He previously an ecommerce leader for IAC, and has just formed Velocity Interactive Group, a venture fund that provides financing for seed, early stage and growth companies. According to Paid Content, the fund invests “as little as $100,000, as much as $30 million.”
Rogers was an original board member, dating from Idearc’s spinoff from Verizon in 2006. He was responsible for the big bet on About.com when he was at Primedia, and had been a longtime exec at NBC, where he ran NBC Interactive, among other things. Way back when, he made the deal with Nynex’s Big Yellow for NBC Interactive Neighborhood (Big Yellow gave way to Superpages.com) With Miller and Rogers together, it makes you realize that Idearc is on a real growth mission.
Idearc, of course, isn’t the only YP with online media bigwigs on its board. New York Times Digital Head Martin Niesenholtz is on the board at YPG.