Goodmail Loses Another Top Executive

Less than two months after being named co-CEO of Goodmail Systems, John Ouren has left the company to take a VP-level position at online market research technology provider MarketTools, this newsletter has learned.

Ouren was named co-CEO in July along with company co-founder and CTO Daniel Dreymann when Goodmail’s previous chief executive, Richard Gingras, stepped down.

As a result of Ouren’s departure, Dreymann will now serve as Goodmail’s sole chief executive.

Both sides claim the split was amicable. Ouren says he still has confidence in Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail, the service where marketers pay a small fee to ensure their e-mails are delivered to inboxes with graphics and links intact along with a blue-ribbon icon.

But the move begs two questions: Why did he give up a CEO position—even if it was shared—to be a VP? Or if Goodmail encouraged the move, why would it do so just six weeks after promoting him?

Reached by this newsletter yesterday during his first day on the job as executive vice president and general manager of Z products, MarketTools, Ouren denied that his move was a vote of no confidence in Goodmail’s future.

He said MarketTools offered him the opportunity to take charge of an operation with revenue “north of $45 million,” or larger than Goodmail.

“An opportunity came along where I can add value to a larger-scale business,” he said.

Ouren added he is joining Goodmail’s board of advisors.

“My heart and some of my money are still with Goodmail,” he said. “I still believe in the company.”

Ouren was the brains behind some extremely aggressive promotions that caused industry speculation that Goodmail may be having trouble getting a critical mass of marketers interested in CertifiedEmail.

For example, last month, Goodmail made a joint announcement with e-mail service providers Cheetahmail, Epsilon’s Interactive Services, and Acxiom Digital that it was offering CertifiedEmail free to those companies’ qualified clients through the end of 2008.

According to industry sources, interest in the offer is lukewarm.

Acxiom Digital did not respond to a call asking how much interest its clients had expressed.

In response to the same question, Epsilon provided a vague statement via e-mail attributed to Ragy Thomas, president and CTO, Interactive Services: “We’ve seen clients realize strong early results with CertifiedEmail. Our roll-out is on schedule, and as we ramp up this program we expect a growing number to take advantage of it and to measure performance improvements.”

CheetahMail was a little more specific.

Its clients are apparently hesitant to make a move that would essentially get their customers accustomed to Goodmail’s blue icon appearing in their inboxes without knowing what CertifiedEmail’s final pricing will be or what consumers’ reactions would be if the icon were turned off.

“If CertifiedEmail becomes important to our clients, we want to be able to enable it. Right now the majority of our clients are taking a wait and see approach,” said Matt Seeley, president, CheetahMail in an e-mailed statement. “There have been some concerns about enabling Goodmail without knowing what happens after the free trial period.”

Meanwhile, as part of Goodmail’s shakeup, David Atlas was promoted from vice president of marketing to senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, essentially getting what was Ouren’s job before he was named co-CEO.

Atlas also denied Ouren’s departure is a bad sign for Goodmail. “We leave on very good terms,” he said. “I personally will be talking to him frequently.”