IAC Applications Appoints Two New Executives
Lyle Underkoffler joins as General Manager of IAC Applications' Mobile Division; Alex Mandel joins as Chief Financial Officer of IAC Applications segment
YONKERS, N.Y., June 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IAC Applications, an operating group within IAC focused on building consumer applications for virtually any platform, today announced two additions to its leadership team. Lyle Underkoffler joins as General Manager of IAC Applications' Mobile Division, leveraging more than a decade of experience building award-winning mobile products for the likes of The Walt Disney Company and Zagat. Alex Mandel, former CFO of LendingTree, also joins the company as Chief Financial Officer, bringing a wealth of blue-chip finance experience. Both executives will report into IAC Applications Co-CEOs Tim Allen and Eric Esterlis.
The appointments follow the 2015 formation of IAC Applications as an operating entity and reporting segment, bringing IAC's consumer applications businesses across mobile, browser and desktop platforms together under one roof. Its Mobile Division, Apalon, acquired in 2014, offers a portfolio of 20 products that includes popular titles such as Good Mornings Alarm Clock, Speak & Translate and Weather Live. Already the #1 paid app developer in the iOS utilities category – a significant part of the non-game segment of apps projected to quadruple in downloads over the next four years according to App Annie – Apalon saw its applications downloaded from iTunes more than 100 million times last year, with revenue up over 2x in the fourth quarter of 2015.
"Consumer mobile apps are projected to reach $74 billion by next year, with non-gaming apps taking more than half," said Tim Allen, Co-CEO, IAC Applications. "Our portfolio already counts some of the top-rated apps in the utilities category, collectively reaching more than 28 million monthly active users. With Lyle now at the helm, we'll look to expand our roster of mobile productivity and utility apps harnessing the scale and audience-building strengths of IAC Applications to significantly grow our mobile footprint."
As General Manager of Mobile, Lyle will lead IAC Applications' Mobile Division with a focus on expanding Apalon's success in the Android marketplace, capitalizing on new and emerging platforms such as wearables, and developing products that empower consumers to unlock deeper value from their smart phones as they go about their daily routines.
Prior to joining IAC Applications, Lyle served as Vice President and General Manager of Digital for The Walt Disney Company, spearheading a network of sought-after mobile titles, including Frozen Karaoke, Mix+Smash: Marvel Super Hero Mashers, and Star Wars Scene Maker. In addition, he oversaw the development of more than 150 mobile products, several of which were named to Apple's Best of App Store lists for innovation. In his previous role as Director of Strategy for Disney Publishing Worldwide, Lyle also developed key strategic partnerships while driving global growth.
As Chief Financial Officer for IAC Applications, Alex Mandel will oversee all general financial management across IAC Applications' mobile, browser and desktop divisions, as well as accounting, finance and analytics. Most recently, Alex served as Chief Financial Officer for LendingTree, Inc., an online loan marketplace, where his leadership on financial initiatives and corporate strategy helped catapult the company to triple-digit percentage stock price growth and placed it among the best-performing Nasdaq stocks during his tenure. Prior to LendingTree, Alex was a Managing Director at Centerview Partners LLC, a boutique investment banking firm. In addition, he spent 12 years at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., serving as a Managing Director in the Media & Entertainment investment banking division, completing more than $37 billion in financing and advisory transactions.
"Alex brings nearly 20 years of corporate finance experience, including well over a decade of media investment banking," said Eric Esterlis, Co-CEO, IAC Applications. "His ability to connect vision with opportunity, along with his wealth of experience across a spectrum of media and entertainment clients, will have a huge impact across our entire business as we grow and expand."
About IAC Applications
A division of IAC (Nasdaq: IAC), IAC Applications brings together a unique collection of award-winning technology companies to form one of the world's largest distributors of utility applications, with its products downloaded more than one million times a day across desktop, browser and mobile devices. For more information about IAC Applications, its businesses and its products, please visit www.iacapps.com.
SOURCE IAC Applications
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