Longtime LinkedIn Head of Product Kevin Simon Joins NewsBreak

Simon brings expertise in product development to the fast-growing local news and community platform

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Feb 08, 2022, 12:00 ET

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NewsBreak, the nation's leading local news app, announced today that Kevin Simon, a seasoned product leader who spent the past decade in executive roles for LinkedIn, has joined the company's leadership team as Vice President of Product. In this role, Simon will oversee all product, design, and user research teams, facilitating the evolution of a platform that provides diverse, multifaceted content to millions of users daily.

In nine years at LinkedIn, Simon exhibited effectiveness as a product leader who can marshal both core functionality and innovative platform expansions. He led the development of products for LinkedIn's 800 million members including the site's profile, search, messaging, notifications, and email features.

Under Simon's product leadership, the LinkedIn Learning business grew from $250 million to $400 million, and its user engagement increased tenfold in under two years. He also led the LinkedIn site redesign, as well as both international product and data teams. Prior to LinkedIn, he held senior product leadership positions at Logitech and Ubisoft and was a strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group. Simon graduated from McGill University and Harvard Business School.

"Kevin is a top-notch product leader who is a tremendous addition to our team," said NewsBreak founder and CEO Jeff Zheng. "His experience building and improving products for millions of users will help NewsBreak expand its platform in ways that better meet the needs of our users and their communities."

NewsBreak was founded in Silicon Valley in 2015 by former Yahoo executive Jeff Zheng and launched its mobile app in 2016. The company aims to bring the most impactful, relevant news and information to its users no matter where they live. With a focus on local news, the app provides both curated and original content to users. In 2021, Newsbreak added almost 1,000 new local media outlets to its platform. In addition to news, NewsBreak provides users easily accessible information about local events, weather, and businesses.

"Joining NewsBreak is an energizing opportunity to help build the next phase of a product that has already seen immense success," said Simon. "I am excited to begin working with the team to build a platform whose central motivation is to serve our communities by ensuring access to the news and information people need in their daily lives."

NewsBreak connects and empowers local users, local content contributors, and local businesses at scale, with the goal of helping people everywhere live safer, more vibrant, more truly connected lives. By forging close partnerships with thousands of local publishers and businesses around the country, NewsBreak is helping a new generation of readers find and engage with vital, locally published content and information.

About NewsBreak

NewsBreak, The Nation's Leading Local News App, is a business name of Particle Media, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, founded in Silicon Valley in 2015 by Jeff Zheng. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is Advisor. Harry Shum, former Executive Vice President of Artificial Intelligence and Research at Microsoft is Chairman of the Board. NewsBreak's mission is to make local information easily accessible and abundantly available, with the goal of helping people everywhere live safer, more vibrant, more truly connected lives. Its long-term vision is to be the world's largest intelligent local information platform, connecting and empowering local users, local content creators, and local advertisers. To download NewsBreak or to learn how to join our fast-growing team, please visit www.newsbreak.com/about.

SOURCE NewsBreak