• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 13, 2014

Evolve Media has grabbed Geoff Schiller, Hearst Digital Media’s chief sales officer, to serve as its first chief revenue officer.
 
In a subtle dig at Hearst, which Schiller left in November, he said he preferred the entrepreneurial energy that Evolve offered -- describing it as “quick, nimble, and lean.”
 
From Evolve’s New York office, Schiller will oversee revenue operations, brand positioning and partnerships across the company’s CraveOnline Media and TotallyHer Media publishing divisions. Schiller on Monday said his first major effort at Evolve involves improving the distribution and discovery of editorial, as well as ad content across Evolve properties.
 
To do so, he’s relying on Crowd Ignite -- a content exchange engine that Evolve bought in 2011 for a reported $1 million. Crowd Ignite’s technology contextually connects audiences of similar interests.

According to Schiller, that effort is unrelated to INgage -- the native advertising product that Evolve debuted last month. “Our goal is to have a strong suite of solutions, and we plan to launch more in 2014,” Schiller said of Evolve’s various content distribution and discovery products.
 
As for challenges, Schiller said those facing Evolve were the same as those threatening the stability of most publishers.
 
Of course, there is “the continuing rising tide of programmatic and consumer fragmentation … and the sea change [that is] mobile,” said Schiller, adding Evolve was well-positioned to take on all three issues.
 
One matter that Schiller declined to discuss on Monday was Evolve’s recent sale of women’s lifestyle site SheKnows.com to private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The sale, announced last month, left some industry watchers scratching their heads, considering that SheKnows was thought to be performing well.  Last November, the site saw roughly 41 million unique visitors, according to comScore.
 
Regarding the sale, Schiller would only say that “by default,” it allowed Evolve to invest more energy and resources into its TotallyHer Media publishing division.
 
Worldwide, Evolve claims to reach an audience of around 95 million people each month.
 
During his tenure at Hearst, Schiller oversaw national sales efforts focused on monetizing the publisher’s portfolio of more than 20 digital properties, including Cosmopolitan.com, Harpersbazaar.com, Housebeautiful.com, Marieclaire.com and Goodhousekeeping.com.
 
Prior to Hearst, Schiller spent two years at People magazine, first as advertising sales manager and later as eastern ad director .