Science & Technology 
Science and Technology
Science and Technology 
Thu, February 5, 2009
William J. Lansing Joins InfoSpace as President and Chief Executive Officer
BELLEVUE, Wash.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--InfoSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ: INSP), a leading developer of metasearch products, announced today that William Lansing, a 20-year veteran of the technology industry, has been named the company's new president, chief executive officer and member of the board. Lansing succeeds Jim Voelker, who will retire as president and CEO of InfoSpace after more than six years of service. Voelker will remain with the company as board chairman through 2010. Both assumed their new roles Feb. 2.
"Will's experience in recognizing strategic shifts, driving on-line growth and his reputation for being a passionate leader elevated him to the top of our list," said Voelker. "We are thrilled to have him on board as we look to build on the successes of the last several years."
Lansing was most recently president and CEO of Value Vision Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVTV), where he launched Shop NBC.TV, an internet video business. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a partner of General Atlantic Partners, a private equity investment firm. Prior to his tenure at General Atlantic, Lansing was CEO of NBC Internet, Inc., an integrated Internet media company. From 1998 to 2000, Lansing served as president and then CEO of Fingerhut Companies, a direct marketing company where he successfully managed the sale of the company to Federated Department Stores. Following the acquisition, he was appointed the additional role of chairman of Federated Direct, which included Macys-by-Mail and Macys.com.
"InfoSpace's strong balance sheet, metasearch applications, consumer web sites, and its highly-talented employees will translate into attractive opportunities over the next few years," said Lansing. "Jim has done a great job in building shareholder value during his tenure. I'm looking forward to working with the InfoSpace team and board to continue in that tradition."
Prior to Fingerhut, Lansing was vice president of Business Development at General Electric, reporting directly to Jack Welch. Before joining GE in 2000, Lansing was the chief operating officer of Prodigy, Inc., an online joint venture of IBM and Sears, where he led a management buyout that took the company private. After starting his career as a securities lawyer, Lansing spent nine years at McKinsey & Co., during which time he rose to the position of partner in the consulting firm's rapidly expanding information technology practice.
Lansing serves on the boards of Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV), RightNow Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNOW), and Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FIC). He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Wesleyan University and a J.D. degree from Georgetown University.
About InfoSpace, Inc.
InfoSpace, Inc., a leading developer of metasearch products, is focused on bringing the best of the Web to Internet users. InfoSpace's proprietary metasearch technology combines the top results from several of the largest online search engines, providing fast and comprehensive search results on InfoSpace sites including Dogpile ([ www.dogpile.com ]) and WebFetch ([ www.webfetch.com ]). InfoSpace's metasearch technology is also available on nearly 100 partner sites, including content, community and connectivity sites. More information may be found at [ www.infospaceinc.com ].
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to InfoSpace, Inc.'s (the "Company") appointment of William J. Lansing as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company, the continuing role of Jim Voelker as Chairman and the Company's ongoing online search business and opportunities that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," variations of such words, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding building on the successes of the last several years, the Company's balance sheet, its employees, opportunities over the next several years, building shareholder value, marketing efforts and the prospects of InfoSpace's online search business, including its technical products, applications and consumer Web sites. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could affect InfoSpace's actual results include: general economic, industry and market sector conditions; the progress and costs of the development of our products and services; the timing and extent of market acceptance of those products and services; the performance of the new officer and our dependence on companies to distribute our products and services. A more detailed description of certain factors that could affect actual results include, but are not limited to, those discussed in InfoSpace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on form 10-Q as filed from time to time, in the section entitled "Risk Factors." Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. InfoSpace undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.