Antti ?hrling, the co-founder of Blyk, has left the company he founded with Pekka Ala-Pietilä in 2006.
The two men were part of the team that launched the business as a standalone UK operator that aimed to offer free service to users, supported by advertising. At launch, the model was entirely new within the European market – requiring users to opt in to receive a certain number of “campaign” mesages a week, and also the formation of an ad network to target those same users.
From 2009 the company ceased service as an MVNO and instead went into partnership with Vodafone in The Netherlands and with Orange in the UK. Its platform now forms the basis for sector-specific advertising and marketing services within those operators – delivering targeted ads and marketing to users in exchange for the users receiving free services. The company said it now has three million opt-in users in India, UK and Netherlands that are receiving Blyk Media messages every day.
Eric Kip, Chief Executive Officer for Blyk since August 2011, said in a company statement, “This brings me back to the moment, when I first heard about Blyk five years ago. A very simple, fresh idea that completely changed the way the Telco and Advertising communities had been thinking until then. Antti’s strategic thinking, creativity and outstanding innovative skills will undoubtedly be the source for other new, disruptive ventures which will shake up many of the new media services around the globe. Working with Antti has been truly rewarding, inspiring and fun. I and the whole Blyk team wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Őhrling, who served a stint as CEO of the UK company, was most recently working as Chairman of Blyk India where he supported the Indian team led by Shubhodip Pal, Country Manager for Blyk India. Kip added, “I will continue to work very closely with Shubhodip in Blyk’s global management team. Currently we are looking how to fill the Blyk India Chairman position.”
There was no statement from Őhrling included in the press release that announced his departure. Co-founder Pekka Ala-Pietilä remains as chairman of Blyk, a position he assumed in August 2011, when Kip took over from him as CEO.