PHOENIX, June 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Limelight Networks (Nasdaq:LLNW), the leader in Digital Presence Management, today announced that it has appointed Kirby Wadsworth to the position of chief marketing officer (CMO). In this newly created position, he will report to Jeff Lunsford, Limelight chairman and chief executive officer, and will be responsible for directing all marketing activities for the company, including brand development, demand generation, marketing services, and corporate communications.

"Few companies ever reach Limelight's level of customer traction, and fewer still do so in a marketplace with the extraordinary transformation potential of Digital Presence," said Wadsworth.  "I am delighted to join at such an important time in Limelight's development, and look forward to being part of reshaping the way enterprises view their online presence."

"Kirby joins Limelight at a critical and exciting time in the company's evolution," said Lunsford.  "With Limelight experiencing 66% year over year growth in value added services in the first quarter – and enterprises now realizing the potential and value of taking an integrated approach to managing their online digital presence – it is time to take Limelight to the next level.  Kirby will be instrumental in helping us raise visibility and focus our marketing efforts to accomplish that."

"Limelight has an incredibly powerful group of assets – from its global delivery platform, to its acceleration, mobile, video, and content management suites, to its geographically-aware, policy-driven Agile cloud storage platform," Wadsworth continued.  "Combined with the company's experience and expertise, these tools create an integrated offering that is both transformational and market-defining.  By solving the toughest challenges CMOs and business leaders face today, such as 'How do I make my company stand out in the digital landscape?' and 'How can I provide customers and other stakeholders with an amazing interactive experience with my company?' Limelight is poised to revolutionize the Digital Presence Management marketplace."

"Limelight Networks' suite of high-value solutions allows our customers to manage their entire digital presence across web, mobile, social, and large screen channels on one platform," added David Hatfield, Limelight's executive vice president, global sales and consulting. "Limelight's Orchestrate digital presence management platform offers advanced features across mobile, video and content management, website acceleration, content delivery, transcoding, live streaming, social enablement and cloud storage. This integration allows Limelight customers to streamline workflows, deliver exceptional multi-screen experiences to their customers, reduce costs, and enhance revenues. Having Kirby on board to help articulate and amplify this amazing story will open new doors for us globally.  I look forward to working with Kirby to grow attention to our offerings in the burgeoning Digital Presence Management market."

"Kirby is a well-known and highly respected marketing leader," stated John Neeson, managing director and cofounder of SiriusDecisions, a leading sales and marketing best-practice advisory firm. "He has proven abilities in defining market categories, articulating clear messages, and aligning sales and marketing execution to enhance business results."

Kirby Wadsworth brings over two decades of marketing and industry experience to Limelight Networks, including over 10 years in executive marketing roles at both public and private companies.  Prior to joining Limelight, Wadsworth held the position of vice president, global marketing for F5 Networks, Inc. where he was instrumental in transforming the company from technology to solutions and ultimately to strategic marketing, while contributing to the company's dynamic growth from less than $400m to over $1b in revenue during his tenure. Mr. Wadsworth also served in executive marketing and business development roles at Acopia Networks (acquired by F5), Revivio (acquired by Symantec), Storability (acquired by StorageTek), Compaq (acquired by HP) and Digital Equipment Corporation (acquired by Compaq). 

Mr. Wadsworth holds an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and BS in Information Systems from Northeastern University.

About Limelight Networks, Inc.

Limelight Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:LLNW) is a trusted provider of integrated cloud-based applications that leverage Limelight's scalable, high-performance, global computing platform. We give organizations whose Internet, mobile, and social initiatives are critical to their success a complete solution to upload, manage, publish, monetize, accelerate, and analyze their online and mobile content. The Limelight team of experts and end-to-end offering allow customers to streamline all of the processes throughout the content lifecycle and optimize the performance of content across all channels — empowering them to quickly and cost-effectively orchestrate a successful digital presence that improves brand awareness, drives revenue, and enhances customer relationships. For more information, please visit www.limelight.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/llnw.

Copyright (C) 2012 Limelight Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. All product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Media Contact:
         Heather Miller
         215-867-8600 x239
         media@llnw.com