• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 12, 2009

Ad technology company Linkstorm has named media veteran Ari Brandt as its new chief executive, replacing founder David Sidman in that role. The company also installed four new board members, along with Brandt.

As head of digital media for Condé Nast Business Media Group before joining Linkstorm, Brandt helped launch Portfolio.com, the online counterpart to the business magazine Conde Nast launched in 2007.

Prior to Condé Nast, Brandt was director of ad solutions for the Yahoo Media Group, leading business operations for Yahoo Finance and Yahoo News and overseeing the launch of Yahoo Tech. He has also held management roles at SmartMoney.com and DoubleClick.

"Ari's proven leadership in advertising and publishing, and his experience on both the client and agency sides, make him the perfect candidate to lead Linkstorm into its next phase of revenue growth," said Sidman, who will serve as the company's board chairman, in a statement.

New York-based Linkstorm promises to boost advertisers' click-through rates by unfurling a menu of links when someone rolls over an ad powered by its Banner Xpander technology. Its clients include American Express, Wal-Mart and Microsoft.

Among the company's investors are technology industry guru Esther Dyson and Jim Rutt, a principal at JPR Ventures and former CEO of Network Solutions.

In addition to Brandt, the new Linkstorm board members are: Kim Goh, an entrepreneur and most recently senior managing director of Hudson Ventures; Jay Shapiro, founder of ad agency Blue Interactive, sold to WPP in 2007; Ewan Main, CEO of The Daggerwing Group, an Omnicom-owned marketing strategy company; and Jonathan Emery, an investor and former Network Solutions corporate counsel.