Carolyn Everson, Facebook's vp/global marketing solutions, will move from new York to London for six months to find a replacement for Joanna Shields, the former vice-president and managing director of Facebook EMEA.
Shields took a job with the British government's project to create a Silicon Valley in the U.K.
The move comes as Facebook's revenues in Europe have sunk. They reached a high of $361 million in Q4 2011 but sunk to $341 in Q3 2012. All other regions of Facebook are growing.
It also accomplishes a number of goals for the social network, we're told:
- It gives Everson easier access to some of Facebook's bigger international clients, such as Unilever, Nestle, and Diageo.
- It gives Everson more facetime with the big European ad agency holding companies like WPP Group and Publicis Groupe. In fact, Everson will appoint an executive specifically to deal with WPP's $400 million annual spend on Facebook.
- It puts Everson closer to its major Asian clients like Hyundai and Kia.
- It's still relatively easy for her to get to New York.
- And she can focus on battling Vkontakte, the Russian Facebook clone that allows pirate video streaming. Facebook only has a few million users in Russia because it doesn't allow users to see pirated movies. VKontakte, however, does, which is one reason why it's more popular than Facebook there.
In the U.S., Facebook ad sales will still be led by longtime vp/sales Tom Arrix, we hear.
Disclosure: The author owns Facebook stock.
SEE ALSO: Facebook Is Failing In Europe — And It's All Russia's Fault
Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
