ATLANTA — Liberator announced the appointment of sales veteran Michael Kane to the position of executive vice president, as well as the appointment of Blanchard to senior vice president of business development.
“We are pleased to strengthen Liberator with the appoint of Michael Kane and James Blanchard to our senior management team,” said Louis Friedman, president and CEO of Liberator. “Michael and Jim bring a considerable wealth of knowledge and strong backgrounds in marketing, sales and business development, and we are confident they will make valuable contributions to the company in these expanded roles.”
With decades of experience in sales and marketing, Kane is currently chief marketing officer for Liberator, and will be expanding his role as executive vice president. Prior to joining Liberator in 2009, Kane was president and founder of The Sellutions Group, a sales consulting firm specializing in early stage technology companies. Prior to that, Kane developed sales and marketing strategy as VP of sales at Pricing Dynamics, acquired by Computer Associates, as well as Ormandy, a marketer of enterprise level software solutions to the communications industry.
"Today we are witnessing a rapid shift to mainstream demand for sexual products and Liberator is precisely positioned to take advantage of this shift with its highly marketable lovestyle image and unique positioning furniture,” Kane said. “I am delighted to expand my role on the Liberator team as we strive to build a true market leader in the sexual wellness industry."
Also advancing to an expanded role at Liberator, Blanchard was formerly vice president of sales and channel development and first joined the company in December 2010. Prior to that, he was president and managing partner of Inspedia, an Atlanta-based logistics company that partnered with international carriers for development of independent contract for hire solutions throughout the U.S. From 1998 to 2001, Blanchard was president of Avana Communications, a technology company focused on Internet communications and leading edge network consolidation.
“I believe the strong reputation of the Liberator brand, driven in large part by our new strategic awareness initiatives and various ad campaigns that we are planning, will lead Liberator to higher sales and ultimately profitability in 2012 and beyond,” Blanchard said. “I look forward to working with Michael and the rest of the Liberator team as we achieve these goals.”
