Hi5, a company in the midst of transitioning from a pure-play social network to a social network/game portal hybrid, has hired one of the game industry's most outspoken and iconoclastic veterans to be its president and chief technology officer. Venture Beat is reporting Alex St. John, who founded and then left casual game and virtual goods pioneer Wild Tangent, will be responsible for polishing up Hi5's product development pipeline along with its technology, network operations and audience acquisition agenda. St. John will report to CEO Bill Gossman, says VB. Hi5 has about 60 million subscribers and is strongest outside the US. The social network has been transitioning toward a game- and goods-focused business model for the past year, which plays to St. John's strengths.
In a statement set to be released tomorrow announcing the hire, Hi5 CEO Gossman says, "Alex's background is a perfect fit for moving the company forward. His extensive experience and leadership in gaming platforms, traffic optimization, and game monetization make him a vital addition to the hi5 team."
Prior to founding Wild Tangent in 1998, St. John was the games evangelist Microsoft (and was the co-creator of DirectX).
[Michael Trigg, Vice President, Marketing, hi5 Networks, Inc. will be speaking at Engage! Expo taking place February 16-17, 2010 in NYC.]
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