Linden Lab Appoints Komin Chief Financial Officer

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Linden Lab®, creator of 3D virtual world Second Life®, has appointed Bob Komin as Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Komin will be responsible for all financial matters and controls, human resources, legal and administrative functions globally, reporting to Linden Lab Chief Executive Officer Mark Kingdon.

In addition to managing the financial and administrative functions, Komin will have the opportunity to help Linden Lab realize the full potential of the Second Life economy, the largest user-generated virtual goods economy in the world. The Second Life economy had a banner year in 2009, totaling $567 million in user-to-user transactions, a 65 percent increase over 2008. Additionally, the sale of user-generated goods within the Second Life marketplace XstreetSL™ grew 74 percent over 2008. 

"Bob has demonstrated his superb ability to manage companies at all stages of development through significant transitions and periods of growth," said Kingdon. "We are confident that Bob has the strategic know-how and experience to strengthen and guide the long-term financial goals of the company."

"The virtual goods industry is in its early stages and there is enormous potential for Second Life to redefine how people interact with technology and think about what is possible," noted Komin. "Linden Lab – a pioneer in this multi-billion dollar industry – is a market leader today, and I am delighted to join the company during this phase of growth."

Komin brings more than 20 years experience in financial management, operations and strategic business development to Linden Lab. He joins a strong team of senior leadership appointed by Kingdon to expand the company's position in the virtual world industry, as well as drive consumer and enterprise adoption of Second Life. The senior leadership team includes Chief Product Officer Tom Hale (formerly of Adobe), Senior Vice President of Global Technology Frank Ambrose (formerly of AOL), and Senior Vice President of Customer Applications Howard Look (formerly of Pixar).

Prior to joining Linden Lab, Komin was the CFO for early stage solar energy start-up firm Solexel for the past two years. Before that, he was the CFO for privately-held Tellme Networks, a voice technology that is used by more than 40 million people each month. In his seven years at Tellme, Komin helped to build the business from pre-revenue stage to more than $100 million in revenue and grow its employees from 160 to 300. He was also a leader of the acquisition and integration of Tellme by Microsoft in a transaction valued at approximately $800 million.  After 5 years in senior financial roles at Cincinnati Bell, Komin was the VP, Finance & Treasurer of the founding executive team of Convergys, a NYSE traded company that was formed by a spin-off and executed its $225 million IPO in 1998.  Komin was responsible for raising over $2 billion in equity and debt offerings while VP, Finance & Treasurer at both of these public companies.

Komin received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in Accounting and General Science with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Oregon.

About Second Life and Linden Lab

Developed and launched by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is the world's leading 3D virtual world environment. It enables its Residents to create content, interact with others, launch businesses, collaborate, educate, and more. Since its inception, Second Life Residents have logged more than one billion user hours and generated more than $1 billion in user-to-user transactions. With a broad user base that includes everyone from consumers and educators to medical researchers and large enterprises, Second Life has become one of the largest repositories of user-generated content and the largest user-generated virtual goods economy in the world.

Linden Lab, founded in 1999 by Chairman of the Board Philip Rosedale and headquartered in San Francisco, develops revolutionary technologies that change the way people communicate, interact, transact, learn and create. Privately held, Linden Lab is led by CEO Mark Kingdon, and has more than 350 employees spread across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.secondlife.com.

SOURCE Linden Lab