SAN FRANCISCO, July 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Yelp Inc.
(NYSE: YELP), the company that connects consumers with great local
businesses, today announced that Max
Levchin has resigned as Chairman and Director to pursue
other interests, effective immediately.
"We thank Max for all his contributions to Yelp since its
founding in 2004 when he provided the seed capital to start the
company," said Jeremy Stoppelman,
Yelp's chief executive officer. "Max saw Yelp grow from just
an idea in my head to a company worth billions of dollars with
Yelpers around the world. We have mutually agreed this is the right
time for him to step down given the demands on his time. I am
grateful for his contributions to Yelp's success and wish him all
the best going forward."
"I am extremely proud of what Yelp has accomplished over the
last 11 years and believe I leave it well-positioned to take
advantage of the large local advertising market," said Max Levchin. "I spoke with Jeremy and felt now
is the right time to transition off the board. I'm confident that
Yelp is prepared to continue its success as I increase my focus on
my CEO responsibilities at Affirm, along with other demands on
my time."
The Board has not yet appointed a new Chairman but plans to
consider the issue at the next Board meeting in September.
About Yelp
Yelp Inc. (http://www.yelp.com) connects
people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in
San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have
taken hold in major metros across 31 countries. Approximately 83
million unique visitors visited Yelp via their mobile
device1, including 18 million unique devices accessing
the Yelp app2, and approximately 79 million unique
visitors visited Yelp via a desktop computer3 on a
monthly average basis during the second quarter of 2015. By the end
of the same quarter, Yelpers had written approximately 83 million
rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real
word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to
restaurants and dentists.
1 Calculated as the number of "users," as measured by
Google Analytics, accessing Yelp via mobile web plus unique devices
accessing the app, each on a monthly average basis over a given
three-month period.
2 Calculated as the number of unique devices accessing
the app on a monthly average basis over a given three-month period,
according to internal Yelp logs.
3 Calculated as the number of "users," as measured by
Google Analytics, accessing Yelp via desktop computer, each on a
monthly average basis over a given three-month period.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the
future performance of Yelp and its consolidated subsidiaries that
are based on Yelp's current expectations, forecasts and assumptions
and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but
are not limited to, statements regarding Yelp's ability to take
advantage of the large local advertising market, and preparations
for future success. Yelp's actual results could differ materially
from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be
considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that
could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to: Yelp's short operating history in an evolving industry;
Yelp's ability to generate sufficient revenue to maintain
profitability, particularly in light of its significant ongoing
sales and marketing expenses; Yelp's ability to successfully manage
acquisitions of new businesses, solutions or technologies, such as
Eat24, and to integrate those businesses, solutions or
technologies; the impact of Yelp phasing out its brand advertising
products by the end of 2015; Yelp's ability to attract, retain and
motivate well-qualified employees, particularly in sales and
marketing; Yelp's reliance on traffic to its website from search
engines like Google and Bing; Yelp's ability to generate and
maintain sufficient high quality content from its users;
maintaining a strong brand and managing negative publicity that may
arise; maintaining and expanding Yelp's base of advertisers;
changes in political, business and economic conditions, including
any European or general economic downturn or crisis and any
conditions that affect ecommerce growth; fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; Yelp's ability to deal with the
increasingly competitive local search environment; Yelp's need and
ability to manage other regulatory, tax and litigation risks as its
services are offered in more jurisdictions and applicable laws
become more restrictive; the competitive and regulatory environment
while Yelp continues to expand geographically and introduce new
products and as new laws and regulations related to Internet
companies come into effect; Yelp's ability to timely upgrade and
develop its systems, infrastructure and customer service
capabilities. The forward-looking statements in this release do not
include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures
that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.
Investor Relations Contact Information
Wendy Lim, Allie
Dalglish
(415) 635-2412
ir@yelp.com
Logo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150714/236436LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yelp-announces-resignation-of-max-levchin-from-board-of-directors-300119957.html
SOURCE Yelp Inc.