Exclusive: eToro Head of PR Nadav Avidan quits firm for senior position at Viber

After three years as Head of Communications and PR, Nadav Avidan has been appointed Global Head of PR at Viber.

After just over three years as Head of Communications, PR and Marketing at social investment platform eToro, Nadav Avidan has left the company to join instant messaging and voice-over-ip (VOIP) application developer Viber as Global PR Lead.

Owned by Japanese conglomerate Rakuten, Viber is one of the modern success stories of the smartphone era, having been founded in 2010 in Israel by Israeli and Belorussian partners Talmon Marco, Igor Magazinnik along with Sani Maroli and Ofer Samocha.

06a8b8d
Nadav Avidan, Global Head of PR, Viber

The company is registered in Cyprus but has its development centers in Belarus and Israel, and is now experiencing a rapid growth period. In its first two years of availability, Viber did not generate revenues, however by 2013 it began to become profitable via user payments for Viber Out voice calling and the Viber graphical messaging “sticker store”.

The company was originally funded by individual investors, described by Mr Marco as “friends and family”. They invested $20 million in the company, which had 120 employees as of May 2013 and just one year later accelerated in value and was acquired by Rakuten for $900 million, with analysts at the time having considered that a good PR exercised helped Viber go the distance in such a short time.

A PR exercise that Nadav Avidan is now picking up the baton to continue after leaving eToro.

At eToro, Mr. Avidan was responsible fo product marketing, the creation of the company’s brand book and continual work with design studios to create what he considered to be a ‘new visual language.’

Mr. Avidan wrote the “tone of voice” playbook and its several variations which included Service, Product, Marketing, Sales and Localization and lead many campaigns in various countries including TV advertising, online advertisement and even outdoor fixed advertising campaigns.

Whilst at eToro, Mr. Avidan experienced not only substantial corporate growth within the firm which led to two investments.

These investments consisted of two entities, one being Russia’s Sberbank, and the other, Chinese technology venture capital investment firm Ping An Ventures.

FinanceFeeds met Lance Liu of Ping An ventures in Shanghai recently, to discuss the interest in eToro from a venture capital investment perspective whilst at the time the Chinese interest in the firm led to speculation that eToro had its eyes on entering mainland China.

Ping-An
FinanceFeeds CEO Andrew Saks-McLeod talks to Ping An Ventures about investment in eToro, Shanghai, China

FinanceFeeds asked Mr. Liu what the rationale was for such an investment on eToro, to which he replied “Our core business is investment in financial services firms, and there are many good business models overseas with good technology which China does not yet have. We have a large market to serve so we have a remit to invest in new technology and foreign business model and bring it into China.”

“eToro’s collaboration with us is on two fronts” said Mr. Liu. “One is a cooperation on the social investment side, whilst we also invested in the fintech side of their business.”

eToro created a wholly owned foreign enterprise (WOFE) which is in the process of registration and is a fully owned subsidiary under eToro. The market here in China is less strict than it was before, and it is less hard to open in China as it had been previously, as long as there is government oversight and input.” – Lance Liu, Head of Investment, Ping An Ventures.

Certainly an interesting time for Mr. Avidan to have led the firm’s public and corporate image, and a tenure that has stood him in good stead as he takes on his senior executive position at Viber, having joined eToro from Stern Arieli PR where he was a PR Consultant with clients such as eBay and PayPal, rising to elevated levels after his three years at eToro.

Main image courtesy of VentureBeat.com, all other images copyright FinanceFeeds

Read this next

Digital Assets

PENG Crypto Listing Hits Jupiter, Synthetix Rises: BlockDAG’s 10,000x Surge Positions it as the Top Crypto to Buy in April 2024

The PENG crypto listing on Jupiter Exchange marks a vibrant phase for the Solana-based meme token, showcasing its community’s resilience amidst market challenges. Synthetix price prediction becomes increasingly compelling as it marks a notable ascent in the crypto markets.

Digital Assets

Binance executives sue Nigerian authorities over rights violation

Two senior executives from Binance have filed a lawsuit against against Nigeria’s national security adviser’s office and its anti-corruption agency, alleging violations of their fundamental rights.

Retail FX

Banxso announces 8.7% interest rate on deposits in South Africa

“With Banxso, they can enjoy the benefits of both worlds – earning competitive interest and having the freedom to trade, all within the same platform.”

Industry News

FINRA to publish transaction details in U.S. Treasury securities

“Consistent with our longstanding practice, FINRA is introducing greater transparency in a calibrated and careful manner, benefiting liquidity and resilience in this critical market while also mitigating potential information leakage concerns.”

Institutional FX

OpenYield launches “cheap and easy” fixed income trading for brokers

“We’re on a mission to make bonds cheap and easy to trade, and are excited about the opportunity to build generational capital markets infrastructure.”

Digital Assets

Sumsub and Mercuryo publish a guide for VASPs: “Mastering Travel Rule Compliance”

“At Sumsub, we’ve concentrated our efforts on filling the gap in understanding the complexity of Travel Rule regulation and helping organizations find the best solution to stay safe and compliant while minimizing costs and avoiding potential risks of non-compliance. This guide we created with Mercuryo, our trusted partner, is the ultimate navigation tool all VASPs can consult.”

Digital Assets

Bitget Wallet Leads with Record Swap Volume & New Crypto Innovations

This week, Bitget Wallet achieved a milestone by surpassing Metamask with a record 388,757 Swap order transactions, securing the global lead. The significant 7-day trading volume, almost 68,000 more than its rival, underscores its liquidity and user trust. This robust activity signals Bitget Wallet’s prominent role and reliability in the dynamic crypto market.

Digital Assets

Embarking on a Digital Currency Journey

Imagine you’ve stumbled upon a treasure map, leading you to untold riches hidden in the vastness of the internet. Instead of gold coins and jewel-encrusted goblets, this treasure comes in the form of digital currencies, the modern-day loot coveted by many.

Reviews

Traders Union Experts Share The Trading Analyst Review For 2024

Navigating options trading in rapidly shifting markets poses a considerable challenge. This is where options trading alert services become invaluable. They aid traders in keeping abreast of evolving opportunities and market trends. In this assessment, Traders Union experts scrutinize The Trading Analyst alert service to ascertain its efficacy. 

<