European Directories Lures Google Exec

European Directories SA has named Ben Legg as its new chief operating officer. Legg comes to EDSA from Google, where he was COO of European operations. EDSA is a major directory player in Europe, with market leadership positions in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Slovakia, and strong competitive positions in Poland and Sweden.

The announcement would appear to be a coup for EDSA, luring a high-profile exec from Europe’s dominant search player. EDSA, like others in the space, is busy transforming itself into a lead generation rather than a directory company. No doubt Legg’s experience at Google will help in this transition.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Legg joined Google in January 2007 as director of operations. Prior to Google, Legg spent several years with Coca-Cola bottlers in Greece and India. He began his career in 1999 at McKinsey, where he worked until 2002, and before that, he spent 10 years in the British Army as an engineering officer. He is a civil engineering graduate of Cranfield University.