Dating/meeting-people site Badoo  has been putting together a 147 million registered user base over the last six years, with a huge run on Facebook helping it to reach around the world last year. And today, it follows up on the momentum with a key hire. It has appointed long-time Google executive Benjamin Ling as chief operating office to help push it out across mobile and Web platforms. He’ll oversee product, engineering, business operations, partnerships and corporate development. Badoo has been best known for expanding into emerging markets like Russia and Brazil but it’s now growing in the US where it already has eight million users.
Ling joins Badoo from Google, where he was product management director of Search Products and Local Business Products. His tenure at that company spanned roles including Google’s search, commerce and Local Business products, to Google’s Commerce products, to senior roles at YouTube. He also had a brief stint helping to lead Facebook’s developer platform in the early days. Ling will begin his new role at Badoo in May, based at its London headquarters.
