Netvibes founder and CEO steps down

Thu May 29 2008, 09:31 AM

Customisable homepage startup Netvibes has appointed company COO Freddy Mini as its new CEO, as company founder Tariq Krim steps down from the position. Krim will remain on the board of directors as a strategic advisor, but he plans to also work on a new project, reports TechCrunch.

Mini takes up his new role after serving as COO since 2006. During his time at the company, he has set up its US operations, signed partnership deals with firms such as CBS, USA Today and New York Times and worked on revenue and marketing strategies. Before moving to Netvibes, he served as SVP and MD of CNET Networks Europe.

Netvibes is a widget platform that lets users arrange news, blogs, emails, social networks and photos into one customisable home page. The company was founded in 2005 and has offices in Paris, London and San Francisco. Rival firm Pageflakes - which was set up by MySpace founder Brad Greenspan - was recently sold to LiveUniverse for an undisclosed sum.