Openings and New Hires at the LSA, GoLocalPDX, ElasticBox and UpSnap

Every two weeks, Search Influence’s Kelly Benish — who knows practically everyone in hyperlocal — covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. (Plus, scroll down for jobs on offer now.)

Greg Sterling – Local Search Association
Last week, the Local Search Association announced that veteran mobile & internet guru Greg Sterling will join their team as its inaugural VP of strategy & insights. Sterling, one of the most well-recognized experts on global local advertising and media, will lead a new initiative at the association to take a deep dive into industry trends, and explore additional avenues to develop new revenue streams for LSA’s more than 300 members. In his new role, Sterling will further drive the LSA’s efforts to showcase new insights on changes taking place across the Last Mile Advertising spectrum.

Austin Beutner – The Los Angeles Times Media Group
The Los Angeles Times Media Group announced the appointment of well-known entrepreneur Austin Beutner as its new CEO & publisher, this change was effective as of last week. Beutner is charged with leading the company’s diverse portfolio of businesses, including the flagship Los Angeles Times, its leading digital properties and numerous local publications. Beutner  will be succeeding Eddy W. Hartenstein, who was recently placed in the role of non-executive chairman of the Tribune Publishing Board. In his new position, Beutner will report to Tribune Publishing Company CEO Jack Griffin.

Michael Martoccia – Local Media Association
The Local Media Association, professional trade organization for over 2,220 local media properties, has brought on Michael Martoccia as training and development manager. Mike holds a dynamic skill set and his experience in digital marketing as a media sales executive will be sure to bring the LMA to even greater training success in the near future. Mike spent the past nine years at McClatchy driving all digital sales and training. Previous to that, he was at Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. as regional advertising and marketing director. Mike will be working hand-in-hand with my homegirl Amie Stein who is the LMA’s training and development director.

Heather Johnston – UpSnap
UpSnap, Inc, an industry innovator of mobile marketing solutions, has named Heather Johnston as National Sales Director. Johnston’s home base is Philly and she will report to VP of sales Shannon McBride. With more than 17 years of experience under her belt as one of our industry pioneers, Johnston worked for Wahlstrom Group, an IPG specialty agency. In the past, she orchestrated countless print-to-digital transformation plans across retail, travel and education verticals, she will oversee the Northeast market.

Derek Thompson – PlaceIQ
PlaceIQ announced the hiring of Derek Thompson as its new chief strategy officer. Thompson, who was previously at Starcom MediaVest Group as their SVP of global mobility, will be charged with building new strategy for PlaceIQ’s mobile direction. As a result of PlaceIQ’s growth in the industry and recent momentum with three executive hires, the company will soon be opening a new office in Chicago. The new space will house members of the strategy and sales team and will serve as a central hub for PlaceIQ’s growing customer base in Chi-town.

Monish Sharma – ElasticBox
San Francisco based startup ElasticBox is announcing that they’ve hired Monish Sharma as VP of customer success. Monish has over 10 years experience on the front lines of DevOps from his time as Salesforce’s senior director of infrastructure engineering — leading senior data and storage engineering teams across the globe in designing, building, and operating core infrastructure and systems life cycles. Monish will use his deep development experience and managerial expertise to oversee ElasticBox’s commitment to customer success.

Multiple Staffers – GoLocalPDX
Local news network GoLocal24, which has sites in Providence, R.I., and Worcester, Mass., has announced some initial hires for its expansion into Portland, Ore..  GoLocalPDX.com has hired four top journalists to launch the new site, Fiona McCann, Byron Beck, Cornelius Swart and Shelby Sebens. McCann, formerly of The Irish Times, Reuters and social media news agency Storyful, will serve as senior editor; Beck who has written for The Oregonian, Willamette Week, and Portland Monthly, will serve as features editor; Swart, the former editor and publisher of the Portland Sentinel, will be content director; and Sebens, who has worked for Reuters and other outlets, will be lead investigative journalist.

Plus where to look for jobs now…

Sonata is in search of a director of sales and bus dev for their NY office. Apply here

Colony Logic is looking for a business development director. Apply here

Local Yokel Media is looking for a business development manager. Apply here

AdMaxLocal / The Search Agency is hiring for many roles. Apply here.

Local SEO Guide seeks an enterprise SEO genius. Is that you? Apply here

Happenings Media is looking for a sales manager. Apply here

Advance Visibility is looking for a director of digital search and seasoned sales reps in the automotive & real estate verticals. Apply here

Ping4, a hyperlocal mobile app in the government/public safety market seeks BD talent in the greater Boston area. Apply here

Many legacy media companies looking for sales managers in the midwest, Texas and several other US markets. Email [email protected] for more details.

PlaceIQ is looking for a VP of business development in NYC. Apply here.

A dozen enterprise sales roles in 10 – 15 US markets. Email [email protected] for more details.

Signpost is hiring more people than before in sales and content roles. Apply here

Plus new talent looking now…

– Video advertising sales leader based in Los Angeles seeks a new role.

– This lady has over 20 years in franchise experience, role must be located in the Southwest region of the US.

– Seasoned talent in broadcasting, over 15 years of experience interested in growing a video ad platform play.

– Senior web developer located in Charlotte, NC would like a work from home role.

– CEO for hire out of TX looking for a new home.

– She is the consummate business development strategist in New England, with over 15 years of experience she is ready to move now.

– Long-time media industry adopter and digitally-savvy mobile marketer and entrepreneur interested in a new opportunity. Chicago based.

– The former Head of digital SME advertising products for a major EU telco is exploring opportunities for his next venture.

– Three seasoned sales managers and trainers looking for something new out of Charlotte, NC.

– Global head of digital product for a major telco in the UK seeks a new role. Over 15 years of experience.

– President of online consulting firm, works with IYP’s & newspapers and eventually moving over to loyalty-based and digital solutions. Willing to relocate from New England.

– Hyperlocal community editor, publisher, marketer is a strategic problem solver. Over 25 years dailies, weeklies, start-ups, magazines, digital, websites, editing and writing books. New Orleans/Baton Rouge

If you are interested in any of these candidates or you would like to be featured as such, please e-mail me at [email protected] for more information.

Kelly Benish is VP of sales and marketing at Search Influence, a national online marketing firm focused on SMBs and white label online marketing for publishers and media partners who serve them. You can follow her on Twitter @Lokellsearch.