BOSTON -- Community-based gas price comparison app company GasBuddy has named Walt Doyle as its new CEO along with the opening of an office in Boston.
Doyle's appointment marks a strategic move for the growth of GasBuddy, the company said. 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. "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 Framingham, Mas..-based convenience-store retailer 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, its mobile payment application, which has been used to purchase more than a billion dollars in gasoline at Cumberland Farms gas stations.
The company also has hired Joshua Herzig-Marx, formerly with Google, to be vice president of product development. Herzig-Marx was the co-founder of Incentive Targeting Inc, which Google acquired in 2012 to expand its mobile targeted content and analytics capabilities.
And GasBuddy has named Mike Schneider, aka “SchneiderMike,” as chief marketing officer. He 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.
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.
With the new executives joining the company, GasBuddy has opened new office in Boston and is expanding personnel across engineering, marketing and sales in Boston, New York, San Diego and Canada to accelerate growth.
GasBuddy has signed 150 gas-station and convenience-store chains as customers to their software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform.
Gaithersburg, Md.-based GasBuddy is a leading app that helps consumers find cheap gasoline, with more than 53 million downloads and 15 million monthly active users. The app and website have the most real-time fuel prices with more than two million user-submitted price updates every day.
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