Greenman Steps Down as RHD Digital Head

Simon Greenman, R.H. Donnelley senior VP of digital strategy innovation and products, confirmed today that he is stepping down and likely to be replaced by Sean Green, 36, who was promoted to VP of strategy and business development in October. Greenman says he basically declined to relocate from Denver to RHD headquarters in Cary, N.C. After a brief sabbatical, Greenman says he will look for new executive positions in the business. He can be reached at sgreenman@gmail.com.

“It’s been a wild three years, starting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange,” says Greenman. “We just launched a new site, and really helped position Dex and RHD as true local search players that can keep adding the right features.”

He noted that his tenure had a number of notable highlights, including the introduction of “groundbreaking SME products, including Dex Web Clicks, and deals with Google and Yahoo! and the acquisition of LocalLaunch” to accelerate online sales. RHD’s acquisition of Dex  and its appreciation of Dex’s progressive innovative nature  in itself was a highlight, he says.

Looking forward, however, Greenman says RHD and other publishers have their work cut out for them. “Publishers are well-positioned to become local search providers. But they’ll need to become much broader, with classifieds, promotional information and service directories. They’ll need to become more consumer-centric, with social networking, merchant recommendations and other features.”