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Q&A with New InfoSpace Chief Financial Officer, Eric Emans

November 18, 2011 By Stacy

This week, InfoSpace announced the permanent appointment of InfoSpace’s Chief Financial Officer Eric Emans. We’re excited to introduce Eric through this brief interview with him.

iSpace: Eric, you served a pivotal, behind-the-scenes role at InfoSpace as its chief accounting officer, yet your role as Interim CFO in the past few months have been much more publicly visible. How would you say these two leadership positions differ for you personally, and what goals do you have for your new role as CFO?

Emans: My role as Interim CFO was certainly more visible internally and externally than my role as CAO. With my CFO position becoming permanent this week, my experiences will continue to evolve every day. I like that aspect, but I’d like to move forward with greater velocity. This will come in time, I’m sure.

My # 1 goal in this position is to drive shareholder value. Accomplishing this goal centers around leadership and keeping the team focused on doing what we do well, and what we can do better. We should be our own toughest critics, and always look to build upon success and not just enjoy it. As CFO, I am focused on fostering an environment of execution with transparency to more quickly achieve success for InfoSpace and its shareholders.

iSpace: Despite a few changes in leadership at InfoSpace over the years, you’ve successfully worked at InfoSpace for 7 years. What is it about InfoSpace that keeps you there?

Emans: I’d like to think that I’ve worked very well with all of the CEOs and former CFOs at InfoSpace over the years. It’s a great public company to work for in a space that is still evolving. We’re just the right size where we can help small to mid-size distribution partners, and also partner with the leading search engine giants.

InfoSpace CFO Eric Emans

iSpace: InfoSpace is in a good situation financially to acquire a company to help uplift its offerings, or change its course entirely. What can you share about this?

Emans: There are a lot of opportunities, but we’re being mindful of what we’d like to acquire to maximize shareholder value. We’re taking the necessary time to make sure we do the right acquisition, and are still in the process of evaluating interesting options.

iSpace: Can you tell us a little more about yourself and what you do in your spare time?

Emans: I like to spend time with my family – my wife, Heather, and daughters, Gracie and Annie. We like to spend time east of the mountains during the summer at Crescent Bar boating and doing water sports, such as skiing, wake surfing and boarding). During the winter months, we enjoy watching UW football and basketball and snow skiing.

We have no doubt that Eric will continue to do an amazing job at InfoSpace in his new leadership role. Congratulations, Eric!