Yell Creates New Role of Head of Brand and Design

READING, UK, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Yell Group plc (LSE: YELL) today announced the appointment of Chris Landry to the new role of Group Head of Brand and Design with responsibility for the design and creation of new digital brands.

Chris has detailed experience in industrial design, product marketing and branding and consumer product development. He is also acknowledged for his design excellence, innovation and ability to ensure a cohesive brand voice.

He joins Yell from Cisco Corporation's Consumer Products Group, where since 2006 he was Senior Executive Director, Worldwide Design & Experience. There, he drove international design and product branding programmes worldwide, working on wireless network, video and home audio products, portable Flip HD video cameras and advanced design concepts.

Before joining Cisco, Chris was Vice President, Corporate Design & Product Development, at Polaroid Corporation, reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer. Amongst his key responsibilities were a number of design areas including overall design strategy for consumer products, product development, and product branding and packing engineering.

Prior to Polaroid, Chris was at Hewlett Packard Corporation, as Design Director, Strategic Design & Innovation. He was responsible for directing all strategic design, innovation, and creative thinking to devise new products. He joined Hewlett Packard as Design Center Manager in the Commercial PC Division.

In his earlier career, Chris had senior design manager roles at Compaq Computer Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation. He has a number of university qualifications including a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and an MA in Professional Management from Boston University.

Mike Pocock, Chief Executive Officer of Yell Group, said: "Chris's experience, energy and creativity will be invaluable in guiding the development of our overall Group brand and of the range of digital services that we offer in the converging consumer and SME market."

Chris Landry said: "Yell has an exciting opportunity to create new global digital brands and services to support our local eMarketplace strategy.  I am excited to lead the brand transformation as part of Yell Group – creating an innovative positioning platform for our business."

About Yell

Yell Group is a leading provider of print and digital services within the emerging local eMarketplace for consumers and SMEs across its operations in the UK, US, Spain and some countries in Latin America.

Building on its strong presence in the local market through its current digital and print portfolio, Yell is developing a broad range of digital services tailored to the converging needs of SMEs and consumers.  

These address both the SME need to grow, transact and be efficient in the digital world, and the consumers' need to connect locally to the goods and services they want, in a way which saves them time and money, and moves their lives forward.  

In the year ended 31 March 2011, Yell Group had 1.3 million SME advertisers.

www.yellgroup.com

SOURCE Yell Group plc