SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP), the company that connects people with great local businesses, today announced the appointment of Vivek Patel to the newly created role of Chief Product Officer. Patel has a record of significant accomplishment in product development and management and extensive industry experience, including spending nearly 10 years leading Yelp’s product efforts. He most recently led the successful integration of Yelp’s consumer- and business-focused product efforts to drive user growth and maximize the Company’s revenue generation.

As Chief Product Officer, Patel will oversee all aspects of Yelp’s product management function, including design, data science, and user research, among other areas. In addition, as a member of the executive leadership team, Patel will ensure that the development of Yelp’s products is aligned with the Company’s strategic direction, especially its diversifying go-to-market strategy and focus on both business owners and consumers.

“Over the 14 years since our founding, Yelp has created the leading local internet destination for consumers with the help of a strong and dedicated team,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, co-founder and CEO of Yelp. “Our business-facing products are a central component of Yelp’s overall strategy. During his tenure at Yelp, Vivek has played an integral role in accelerating the diversification of our business products and enhancing our go-to-market strategies, specifically through the development of key products such as our self-serve platform, Request-A-Quote and Yelp Reservations, and the integration of Yelp’s partnership with GrubHub. Our products have been vital to creating revenue-generation opportunities by allowing business owners to access our engaged consumer base and by forging deeper relationships with our consumers through our transactions business. These products are the core of our long-term growth strategy, and we are thrilled to have Vivek lead us as we continue working to execute on that strategy.”

“I am honored to take on this important responsibility to help support and drive the Company’s product strategy moving forward. Growing up with and working alongside a family of restaurateurs and small-business owners has provided me not only with firsthand knowledge of the complexities of this industry, but also a deep and personal connection to Yelp’s business owners and an understanding of products that serve them effectively,” said Patel. “Yelp’s products are a significant part of our growth opportunity, and I am excited to continue working alongside our incredible team to unlock more value for consumers, advertisers and business owners, and achieve our full potential as a business.”

During his career at Yelp, Patel managed the business products team, which, under his leadership, grew Yelp’s advertising products from $25 million to nearly $1 billion in revenue. Patel also served as Yelp’s Head of Business Products from 2011 to 2016, during which he led the development of the company’s self-serve advertising platform, business-owner mobile app, Request-A-Quote and integration of Yelp Reservations and Yelp Waitlist. Patel also led the integration of several Yelp-acquired products and businesses, including Turnstyle, a Wi-Fi enabled marketing platform for small businesses (2017); Nowait, the restaurant waitlist app now known as Yelp Waitlist (2017); and SeatMe, Inc., now known as Yelp Reservations (2013), and the integration of Yelp’s strategic partnership with GrubHub after the sale of the Company’s Eat24 division.

Prior to joining Yelp, Patel spent four years at SugarSync, a provider of online file backup, syncing and sharing services, where he was the company’s first hired employee and member of the senior management team. In his role as Director of Product Management, Patel defined SugarSync’s product vision, roadmap, and monetization plan. Prior to joining SugarSync in 2004, Patel was a software engineer for a number of companies and his own entrepreneurial ventures.

Patel graduated from Stanford University with an M.A. in Education: Learning, Design & Technology and a B.S. in Computer Science.

About Yelp

Yelp Inc. () connects people with great local businesses. With unmatched local business information, photos and review content, Yelp provides a platform for consumers to discover, interact and transact with local businesses of all sizes. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp has taken root in major metros in more than 30 countries.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, Yelp’s future performance that are based on its current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Yelp’s: strategies, priorities and initiatives; ability to successfully execute on such strategies, priorities and initiatives; and ability to unlock more value and achieve its full potential as a business.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences also include those factors that could affect Yelp’s business, operating results and stock price included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Yelp’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q at or the SEC’s website at .

Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to Yelp on the date hereof. Such forward-looking statements do not include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof. Yelp assumes no obligation to update such statements.

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