eStara hires new CEO

eStara is one of those "best kept secrets", but they have some good technology and have been around for quite some time. Their VoIP products, including their click-to-call technology, have a strong presence in the government sector. probably because they're located in Virgina, just a hop-skip-away from Washington, D.C. In any event, they announced a new CEO today. Hopefully, their new CEO can help them not be a "best kept secret".

John Federman Joins eStara as Chief Executive Officer Leading click to call and per-per-call solutions provider taps former Dotomi CEO to expand enterprise and media client base.

eStara, a leading provider of communications solutions for linking buyers and sellers, today announced it has appointed John Federman as chief executive officer. An experienced leader, Federman brings extensive experience in online and print media.

"I look forward to helping eStara seize the opportunities created by several colliding market forces that will drive the adoption of click to call and pay per call products," said John Federman. "These include the rapid growth of localized ad spending and the drive to improve upon performance metrics for marketers. Already the world's leading click to call provider, eStara's unique combination of VoIP-based call tracking and click to call services will deliver upon market requirements to improve sales conversion rates and prove marketing ROI."

Federman joins eStara after serving as co-founder, president and CEO of Dotomi, a leading marketing services and technology company. While leading Dotomi in establishing U.S. operations, Federman guided the rollout of its first product, which enables advertisers to display personalized banner ads.

Prior to Dotomi, he was the CEO of Newmediary, which was sold to CNET Networks in 2002. At Newmediary, he successfully repositioned the company from a destination site to an ASP supporting a private label directory network.

Federman was also president and CEO of AdSmart, a CMGI company, and took the company from 8 employees and $65,000 per month in revenue, to 140 employees and more than $7 million in revenue prior to its sale to Engage for $473 million.

Federman is a frequent presenter at marketing industry conferences. He spent 12 years at PC Week, rising from regional advertising manager to publisher of the #1 trade publication in the world. While at PC Week, he managed all aspects of the publication's operations and launched PC Week online.

He replaces co-founder and chairman Tom Natelli who will remain as the company's chairman. "We were looking for a successful entrepreneur with extensive experience in online media and enterprise marketing," said Natelli. "We found the perfect match in John Federman."

eStara's executive search was conducted by Heidrick & Struggles, the world's premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services.