• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 9, 2009

Ad technology firm The Rubicon Project on Monday announced its expansion into the UK. Jay Stevens -- former VP of European operations, and most recently SVP of Audience, at MySpace -- has been tapped to lead the new operation as VP and general manager, international.

The move is a direct result of the rabid globalization of the Web, according to Frank Addante, founder and CEO of the Rubicon Project.

"Up to 40% of visitors to U.S. Web sites come from outside the U.S.," Addante said. "Capitalizing on our global presence is crucial to best serving our customers and partners."

At MySpace, Stevens is credited with building out the social networking site's European footprint, and managed the P&L for 12 of its EMEA markets.

"European online publishers are facing exactly the same problems that US publishers do," said Stevens. "Especially in the UK, where advertising networks account for 44% of online display spend."

Amid mounting industry competition, Rubicon recently raised an additional $13 million in venture funding to fuel various growth initiatives, including strategic acquisitions, research and development, infrastructure and international expansion.

A growing number of startups are competing to help Web publishers better manage the sea of ad networks they can now choose from to sell leftover ad impressions.

For a share of earned ad revenue, companies like the Rubicon Project, Pubmatic, and AdMeld factor in pricing data, available inventory, and publisher guidelines to determine which ad network is sent an ad impression -- work that a publisher's sales force would otherwise be required to perform.

Based in Los Angeles, the Rubicon Project launched in 2007. In the first quarter of 2009, the company is reporting 150% revenue growth over the fourth quarter of 2008.

The company's publisher clients include Gannett, Salon, Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive and American Greetings.

Prior to joining MySpace in February of 2006, Jay was the director of international for Silverpop, a UK-based email marketing software and services provider.