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Jim Safka Departs Ask.com to Join Chegg as Chief Executive Officer

Posted on: Monday, 1 June 2009, 08:00 CDT

Co-Founder and CEO Osman Rashid Becomes Chairman of the Board

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Chegg, whose transformative concept of money-saving, rental access to textbooks has made it one of the Internet's fastest growing new companies, today announced that Jim Safka has been named Chief Executive Officer. Safka, who most recently was Chief Executive Officer of Ask.com and previously Chief Executive Officer of Match.com, has been widely recognized for his ability to drive innovation and growth by combining consumer-focused marketing with technological innovation.

Safka will succeed the company's entrepreneurial Co-Founder and CEO Osman Rashid, who established the company in 2005, and will now serve as Chegg's Chairman of the Board.

"Jim is the right person at the right time in our company's development," said Mr. Rashid. "Since our founding, customer base has consistently grown; the fact that students at 6,000 colleges now rely on Chegg demonstrates that we are meeting a massive need. Jim will propel us to the next level of growth as we aggressively expand the market and our leadership position in it."

Chegg saved students more than $16 million last year, by providing them with rental access to the textbooks they need, when they need them. In the spring 2009 semester alone, Chegg has already saved students $17 million. In addition to coming to the rescue of students in these difficult times, Chegg has positive impact on the environment because its 'sustainable textbook' approach means that less paper is used. To demonstrate its commitment, Chegg plants a tree in a customer's name for every book it rents; and thus far more than 750 acres of forest have been created.

Jim Safka, newly-named Chief Executive Officer of Chegg, said, "This great company is reinventing a model that makes perfect economic and environmental sense, which is why it's been embraced by students and the best venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. After many conversations with Osman and the Board, I became convinced that Chegg is a once in a lifetime opportunity -- with a passionate, entrepreneurial team -- to build a brand that is an emotionally resonant and contributes to society on multiple key levels. I look forward to working very closely with textbook publishing business leaders to create value for their businesses and college students alike."

Ted Schlein at Kleiner Perkins said, "Jim is an incredibly effective leader and we are glad he has joined Chegg to lead the company to the next stage of its development. Osman is a tremendous visionary founder who has extraordinary entrepreneurial prowess. I have every confidence that Jim will further Chegg's role as an important educational force in America."

In December 2008, Chegg received $25 million in funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Foundation Capital and existing investors Gabriel Venture Partners and Primera Capital. The financing will support Chegg's aggressive growth strategy for building the textbook rental market and Chegg's position as the number one brand.

Prior to Chegg, Mr. Safka oversaw global operations for Ask.com's. Previously, Safka served as Chief Executive Officer of Match.com, the global leader in online dating with businesses in more than 70 countries. He has also held senior positions at AT&T Wireless, E*TRADE Financial Corporation, Intuit, Alberto-Culver, Inc., Warner Bros. Inc., and Paramount Pictures. Safka holds an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

About Chegg

Chegg is replacing the legacy textbook channel with an Internet-based model for rental and return. Started in 2005 by Osman Rashid and Aayush Phumbhra, and launched nationally in 2007, Chegg has already saved students at over 6,000 colleges millions of dollars. With a growing inventory of more than one million books, Chegg.com puts textbooks into the hands of students when they need them, arriving in the brand's iconic orange box, and enables students to send their books back - with a streamlined, elegant solution. Additionally, Chegg's "sustainable textbook" initiative plants a tree for every book rented; to date, more than 750 acres - the equivalent of 150 blocks - have been planted.

Follow Chegg on Twitter @Chegg and @cheggceo. For more on Chegg, visit www.Chegg.com right now.

SOURCE Chegg.com

Source: PR Newswire

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