Dopplr is strengthened ...

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Dopplr has appointed Marko Ahtisaari as CEO. Dopplr, the online service for smarter travel, today announced it has appointed Marko Ahtisaari as CEO, effective January 1st 2009. This is great news for the company as it prepares to take its next steps.
Marko was a founding investor in Dopplr and has been active in guiding the company. Co-founder and founding CEO Lisa Sounio will become Chairman, alongside fellow board members Tyler Brûlé and Saul Klein.

Since launching to a select group of global companies last fall, Dopplr has attracted an international following of smart travellers. Lisa and the team have done a super job of launching the brand and building a strong following. As a founding investor Marko knows the team well and with his background in mobile services and media is an excellent fit to grow the business.
Today, Dopplr is an important 'intention sharing service online', akin to social platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but with a tight focus. When people share their travel plans and tips through Dopplr their mind is already set on the travel experience: on where their colleagues and friends are going, how they’re getting there and what hotels they’re staying at.

Marko Ahtisaari has worked previously as Director of Design Strategy at Nokia and serves on the board of directors of F-Secure and Artek. Most recently Ahtisaari has been Head of Brand & Design at Blyk, the free mobile network for young people funded by advertising, and will continue in a role supporting Blyk in its partnering and expansion strategy. In September 2008 Dopplr announced its second financing round from a group of prominent international investors — all users of the service.

The investors include Esther Dyson, Tyler Brûlé, Thomas Glocer, Yat Siu, Aditya dev Sood, Lars Hinrichs, Joshua Schachter, Brian Behlendorf, Daniel Sachs, Joshua Cooper Ramo, and Azeem Azhar. Saul Klein, whose Accelerator Group, invested in this round, also invested in the previous round together with Martin Varsavsky, Reid Hoffman and Joichi Ito. www.dopplr.com

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