New leadership and the opening of a new office are steps to poise GasBuddy for future growth.
Walt Doyle has been named the new CEO of GasBuddy, the largest community-based gas price comparison app. Along with this exciting addition to the GasBuddy team, the company has also announced the opening of the new Boston office.
Doyle’s appointment marks a strategic move for the growth of GasBuddy. Doyle was the founder and CEO of Where Inc., a location-based media company that was acquired by PayPal Media Network in 2011. After the Where acquisition, Doyle started the PayPal Boston office and served as the general manager for two years before becoming a venture partner at Highland Capital.
“Walt and the team he has assembled are the catalyst we need to enter a new chapter of growth and expansion,” said Jason Toews, GasBuddy’s co-founder. “Everyday, millions of people turn to GasBuddy to make fuel-purchasing decisions; the experience that this team brings will accelerate the development of new features and revenue models that will turn GasBuddy into a global brand and company.”
Also joining GasBuddy as chief information officer is David Banks, formerly with Cumberland Farms. Banks has extensive experience in the energy and retail gas space, using technology in innovative ways to build loyalty, frequency and improve the bottom line. While at Cumberland Farms, Banks oversaw the implementation and launch of several innovative technology and mobile products including Cumberland Farms SmartPay, their mobile payment application that has been used to purchase over a billion dollars in gas at Cumberland Farms stations.
Joshua Herzig-Marx, formerly with Google, has been hired as the vice president of product development. Herzig-Marx was the co-founder of Incentive Targeting Inc., which was acquired by Google in 2012 to expand their mobile targeted content and analytics capabilities. Mike Schneider has been named chief marketing officer and will lead the company’s efforts in branding, user experience and acquisition. Schneider comes from Skyhook Wireless, where he was vice president of marketing. Prior to Skyhook, he led branding, emerging media and social, location and mobile technology efforts with Allen & Gerritsen and Hill, Holliday.
Co-founders Dustin Coupal and Jason Toews will remain on the leadership team to advise on product and growth strategies.
“There are very few technology companies in the world that have both a large and highly engaged consumer media property as well as strong B2B SaaS offering,” said Doyle. “The GasBuddy team, community of users, and network of retail partners is amazing — it’s a privilege to come into this opportunity and take us into the next chapter.”
This year GasBuddy will be expanding globally with plans to launch in Australia in the first quarter of 2016, and two additional European markets to follow. The team will continue to capitalize on their strong relationships with the gas industry and provide market-first services for the competitive retail space. To date, GasBuddy has signed 150 gas station convenience store chains as customers to their SaaS platform.
As part of the new executives joining the company, GasBuddy has opened their new office in Boston near North Station. There are 20 new job openings across engineering, marketing and sales in Boston, New York, San Diego and Canada to accelerate growth.
