Former Yapta CEO Tom Romary joins Rearden Commerce to lead the company’s consumer and loyalty services business

Last Updated: January 2, 2012By Chintan Bharwada

Rearden Commerce, creator of the Deem™ ecommerce platform, today announced the appointment of Tom Romary as Senior Vice President, Consumer Services. An entrepreneur and seasoned executive with deep experience in managing consumer Internet and ecommerce businesses, Mr. Romary will be responsible for leading Rearden Commerce’s growing consumer and loyalty services business — both primary drivers of the Deem platform.

“The team at Rearden is incredibly talented and focused on delivering break-through innovations in the ecommerce universe. I’m excited to be part of the revolution going on at Rearden Commerce to build a ‘smarter web’ via the Deem platform, delivering highly relevant and contextual commerce.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Tom to our management team to lead the charge for our burgeoning consumer business,” said Patrick Grady, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Rearden Commerce. “Tom is an extremely talented executive who has had tremendous success growing consumer Internet businesses. His particular talent in innovating new products and bringing them to market in the consumer space promises to bring immediate benefit to Rearden Commerce and to the Deem platform.”

Mr. Romary comes to Rearden Commerce after co-founding Yapta, a company widely regarded as a pioneer in airfare price assurance services, where he has served as CEO since 2006. Under his direct leadership, Yapta successfully raised multiple rounds of venture financing, gained more than a million registered users, and established key distribution partnerships with major credit card companies and travel services providers. Prior to Yapta, Mr. Romary served as Vice President of Marketing for Alaska Airlines, where he led all marketing efforts including the award winning Mileage Plan loyalty program. He also managed Alaska Vacations, inflight services, and launched Alaska’s first inflight digital entertainment.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Romary spent over 10 years in ecommerce and digital entertainment product management, having served as Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Real Networks where he launched the company’s online music subscription business, and as Vice President of Marketing for Fogdog.com, the leader in sporting goods e-tailing. Mr. Romary also served in executive product management roles at Electronic Arts/Disney educational software, and at the onset of his career worked in brand management for General Mills. Mr. Romary holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University, and an MBA from Harvard University.

Mr. Romary said, “The team at Rearden is incredibly talented and focused on delivering break-through innovations in the ecommerce universe. I’m excited to be part of the revolution going on at Rearden Commerce to build a ‘smarter web’ via the Deem platform, delivering highly relevant and contextual commerce.”

Source: Business Wire

Chintan Bharwada

Chintan is the Founder and Editor of Loyalty & Customers.

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