CINCINNATI – William G. Glass, currently chief operating officer of Shopzilla, has been named president of the online comparison shopping service.
Glass, 37, succeeds John Phelps, who has served as president of Shopzilla since shortly after it was acquired by The E. W. Scripps Company in June 2005, and prior to that was the company’s chief operating officer.
Phelps, 39, a nine-year veteran of Shopzilla, will be assisting with the management transition at the company. Also helping with the transition will be Farhad Mohit, 37, Shopzilla’s co-founder and chief product officer. Following completion of the transition, Phelps and Mohit will leave their operating roles at the company, with Mohit retaining the title of chairman emeritus.
“Shopzilla is the great success that it is today because of its deep bench of talented executives and professional staff,” said Tim Peterman, senior vice president of Scripps Interactive Media. “Bill Glass has played a key role in helping us create outstanding consumer and merchant experiences at Shopzilla, and has helped guide the company to its competitive position as one of America’s leading online comparison shopping services. He’ll be leading an exceptional team of people who share the same passion for the business.”
Commenting on the contributions Phelps and Mohit have made to Shopzilla’s success, Peterman said, “We are tremendously grateful to John and Farhad, as Shopzilla and its exceptional management team are the product of their vision and years of hard work. They’re recognized throughout the industry as online comparison shopping pioneers, and we’ve valued their willingness to stay on these many months to guide the smooth integration of Shopzilla into the Scripps family of media businesses. We wish them the best as they begin new chapters in their professional and personal lives.”
Glass joined Shopzilla in March 2004 as vice president of operations and was named senior vice president of consumer product operations in December of that year. He was named chief operating officer in October 2005.
Before joining Shopzilla, Glass served in executive roles of increasing importance at Flipside, Inc., the online game media division of Vivendi Universal. Glass joined Flipside in 2000 as vice president of operations and strategy. In 2001 he was named executive vice president of publishing and was executive vice president and general manager of the division when he left in 2003.
Glass has an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego.
“Bill has been the cornerstone of our operations for the last three years, helping lead the company to a clear leadership position in online comparison shopping,” Phelps said. “I cannot imagine a better president for Shopzilla given his leadership ability, industry experience, intelligence, character and integrity.”
About Shopzilla Shopzilla, formerly BizRate.com, is the most powerful and easiest-to-use shopping search site on the Web. With an index of more than 35 million products from more than 87,000 stores, Shopzilla uses ShopRank, a proprietary patent-pending algorithm, to help shoppers instantly find virtually anything on sale from anyone, anywhere on the Web at the best price. About Scripps
The E. W. Scripps Company is a diverse and growing media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television stations, interactive media, and licensing and syndication.
The company’s portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks, with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great American Country; daily and community newspapers in 18 markets and the Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News Service; 10 broadcast TV stations, including six ABC-affiliated stations, three NBC affiliates and one independent; Scripps Interactive Media, including leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla and uSwitch; and United Media, a leading worldwide licensing and syndication company that is the home of PEANUTS, DILBERT and approximately 150 other features and comics.