FREMONT, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Offerpal Media, the leader in virtual currency monetization for online games, virtual worlds and social networks, announced today that George Garrick has been named chief executive officer.

Garrick brings more than 25 years of experience in technology, advertising and consumer businesses to Offerpal Media. His track record of accelerating revenue growth and brokering strategic relationships with customers and partners will be critical assets in leading Offerpal Media.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to lead Offerpal Media going forward," said Garrick. "The social gaming and virtual goods space is an exciting and exploding industry and Offerpal is centrally positioned as the leading payments and offers platform supporting content developers, publishers, marketers, and of course, consumers. We have a great team of people and I am looking forward to working with them in defining where we go from here and in taking Offerpal to the next level."

Garrick was part of the management team that took Information Resources, Inc. from $2 million to $300 million in revenue. Garrick served in London as President-IRI Europe, launching IRI services in France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey, and later became CEO-North America.

As CEO of Flycast Communications, Garrick repositioned the startup into the Internet's first major direct-response advertising network leading it to a $500 million IPO and a subsequent sale for $2.3 billion. As Chairman and CEO of PlaceWare Inc., Garrick guided the company to an acquisition by Microsoft for $200 million. More recently, Garrick has served as CEO of Wine.com, Jingle Networks and Mochi Media.

"I have known George for a long time," said Anu Shukla, Founder of Offerpal Media. "After many months of searching, I believe that George is the best CEO to scale the company to new heights. I am looking forward to working with him closely."

"Offerpal Media has done a tremendous job of pioneering and becoming the leader in the virtual currency monetization space," said Doug Pepper, General Partner at InterWest Partners. "George's unique executive capabilities, deep experience in the advertising industry, and track record of building successful companies are exactly what Offerpal Media needs at this stage."

Garrick holds bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Purdue University in math, engineering and business, as well as two U.S. Patents.

Supporting Resources:

George Garrick bio

George Garrick executive photo

Offerpal Media

Offerpal Media blog

Offerpal Media Twitter page

About Offerpal Media:

Offerpal Media is the leader in virtual currency monetization for online games, virtual worlds and social networks. The company's turnkey payment platform gives consumers the opportunity to earn or buy virtual currency by completing targeted advertising offers or by purchasing it through direct, global payment options. Since its launch in 2007, Offerpal has issued hundreds of billions of virtual points to over 150 million consumers across 2,000 publishers and 190 countries.

SOURCE Offerpal Media