Marketing VP Atlas Out at Goodmail
David Atlas has been let go from his position as senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for Goodmail Systems, this newsletter has learned.
Daniel Dreymann, president and co-founder of e-mail certification firm Goodmail, said the lay off was part of a reorganization.
“Goodmail Systems recently announced that it received $20 million in a new round of funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners,” said Dreymann in a statement e-mailed to this newsletter. “With this added funding, Goodmail has strategically realigned its organizational structure. David Atlas is no longer a full-time employee, but we are pleased that he is continuing to work with Goodmail as a consultant. David has been an important contributor to Goodmail and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Atlas said in an e-mail that while he was disappointed, he realizes the downsizing was a condition Goodmail agreed to in order to get funding.
“I understand that having a senior VP in charge of sales, marketing, business development and international became an unnecessary layer in a smaller company, especially with a CEO as capable as Peter Horan,” wrote Atlas. “I feel though that I did what I needed to do for the company, taking it from an idea with no real traction to a point now where it’s an accepted as part of the ecosystem.”
According to sources, Atlas will consult with Goodmail until January.
Atlas’s departure comes at the end of a year during which Goodmail made some key new sales-and-marketing hires.
Most recently, Pam Haas joined the e-mail certification firm from Alliant Data Solutions as vice president of channel sales. Haas has a background steeped in traditional direct marketing, including sales management positions as Equifax Marketing Services and e-mail service provider Bigfoot Interactive.
In May, Jordan Cohen joined Goodmail from Epsilon as senior director of industry relations.
Last November, the company hired Charles Stiles, the former postmaster at AOL.
Added Atlas: “They say a good manager is able to hire people to replace himself, and as a result of the people I put in place—Charles Stiles in business development, Jordan Cohen in marketing, Pam Haas on ESPs, among many others—I actually made myself more dispensable in this tough economic environment. Ironic, but I get it.”
Also in May, Goodmail announced media and advertising executive Horan was its new CEO.
Atlas’s departure also comes at a time when Goodmail seems to be turning a corner.
The company announced in October that more than 3 billion messages were sent in September carrying the Goodmail certified e-mail logo and that it was about to begin charging mailers for its services.
Atlas was one of Goodmail’s regular public spokesmen. He made regular appearances on the company’s behalf at trade shows and conferences, and often spoke for the firm in the trade press.
He was also considered by some industry insiders as a key driver of a successful effort to soften the company’s image with mail service providers, a segment of the marketplace Goodmail originally ignored, much to its detriment.
