AMSTERDAM and SAN FRANCISCO – 30 July 2013 – AVG Technologies N.V. (NYSE: AVG), the provider of Internet, mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users, today named Gary Kovacs as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Mr Kovacs joins AVG from Mozilla Corporation, where he was most recently CEO and responsible for expanding the company’s desktop and mobile businesses.
“We welcome Gary to AVG and look forward to benefiting from his seasoned leadership skills as CEO and as a member of the Management Board. His past career successes are directly applicable to the opportunity and the future of AVG – mobile, cloud, software and platforms — and we believe that his rare blend of experience, leadership and drive will take AVG to new levels,” said Dale Fuller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AVG.
Over the course of his 25-year career and prior to joining Mozilla, Mr Kovacs was Senior VP of Markets, Solutions & Products at Sybase (acquired by SAP) and General Manager and VP of Mobile & Devices at Adobe Systems. He also held a variety of senior marketing, product management, technical and operating positions with other industry leading companies including Macromedia (acquired by Adobe), Zi Corporation (acquired by Nuance Communications) and IBM, where he was instrumental in creating products and strategies that drove long-term growth.
“We know that there are over two and a half billion people online and we anticipate another two and a half billion people coming online in the next five years. With all these people online there is going to be an increasing urgency to secure them,” said Gary Kovacs, newly named Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, AVG Technologies. “I have dedicated my last three years to that pursuit and with AVG building products that simplify and secure users’ digital lives, it is a natural fit. I am really excited to be here and I am looking forward to helping AVG continue to grow its business.”
An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders will be held to approve Mr. Kovacs’ appointment as CEO and a member of AVG’s Management Board.
