Phorm chairman steps down
Phorm’s chairman Steven Heyer is to step down following a disagreement over the future direction of the company.
Heyer is one of four board members to leave the online advertising company over the dispute, along with David Dorman, Christopher Lawrence and Phorm’s chief operating officer, Virasb Vahidi.
The departures are said to be over “differences as to the management and future direction of the company”.
Phorm has appointed four non-executive director replacements, including the former Conservative chancellor Norman Lamont and the ex-Ofcom executive board member Kip Meek, according to reports.
Kent Ertugrul, founder and chief executive, said: “I would like to thank Steve, Dave, Chris and Virasb for the important contributions they have made to Phorm’s development.
“As we move into the next phase of our development, the priority will be to build momentum in the rollout of our strategy,” he added.
The online ad company is currently trialing its controversial ad targeting system with BT and expects to start trials with Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse’s TalkTalk shortly (see Phorm Rolls Out Next BT Trial).
Phorm’s system, which tracks web habits in order to provide better targeted ads, came under fire following claims that it had previously been trialled by BT without the consent of users (see UK Government Considers Phorm “Lawful”).
Phorm: www.phorm.com