Enterprise social network firm Yammer has continued its European expansion by hiring two new executives at its EMEA HQ in London’s east end, around what is known as Silicon Roundabout.
The company also confirmed that it is looking at moving to new, larger offices just months after opening its first London office.
Georg Ell, previously pan-EMEA sales director at Yammer, will become general manager for EMEA while Mike Grafham joins as head of Customer Success for EMEA, where he will head the team responsible for maintaining customer relationships and network deployments, the company announced.
Speaking to CBR at an event held near Silicon Roundabout in London’s Old Street, Ell said Yammer’s European operation currently employs around 20 people and is looking to double its headcount over each of the next few quarters.
The San Francisco-based company only opened its first London office in July this year, but is already looking to move to a larger office, a 7,500 square-foot property that can house its booming workforce.
Ell said that Yammer decision to base itself in London’s east end was primarily driven by the government Tech City initiative rather than the existing hub of tech start-ups that have been blossoming in the area for many years.
"We looked at the west end because a lot of our customers are there," he told CBR, "but decided the help offered by Tech City in terms of understanding tax laws and so on would be valuable."
Tech City is the government-backed initiative to build on the existing tech hub around the Old Street roundabout by extending it to Hackney, Dalston and the Olympic Park in Stratford.
As well as financial backing the government will lend a helping hand in getting super-fast broadband installed and help start-ups develop by introducing them to experienced entrepreneurs. The scheme recently celebrated its first birthday.
CBR recently spoke to Yammer CEO David Sacks about where the company sits in the social enterprise space and why it is a better bet for businesses than Facebook or Twitter.
