Kibo Spins Off Personalization Business Unit as New Entity

It’s a brand-new day for Monetate, and we have some big news to share.

Today, Kibo announced that they have sold their Personalization business unit, formerly known as Monetate and Certona, to Centre Lane Partners as a single entity.

Therefore, moving forward the new personalization-focused business that has been “spun off” from Kibo will be known as Monetate.

As the CEO of Monetate, I am excited about what the future brings for both Monetate and Kibo.

But you might be wondering, what does this announcement mean for existing Kibo personalization customers, our personalization partners, and the former Kibonauts who are now Monetate employees?

You can read the official announcement that we made to the press here, but I also wanted to share a few more details about what this new adventure means for both Monetate and Kibo.

Over the past several years, Kibo’s Commerce and Personalization business units have benefited tremendously from being under the singular purview of the Kibo brand.

During this time, the Personalization business (Monetate and Certona) has created an industry-leading, purpose-built Personalization solution that, with hundreds of clients and growing, is highly acclaimed and proven to meet the needs of some of the world’s largest brands.

Our Personalization platform has won several TrustRadius Top Rated awards, and most recently was ranked as the 2022 #1 Personalization Vendor to the Top 1000 retailers.

Similarly, Kibo realized a strong, differentiated commerce vision, and is recognized by Gartner as a leader in composable commerce. Earlier this year, Kibo was named the Sole Leader of B2C Commerce Solutions by Forrester in “The Forrester Wave™: B2C Commerce Solutions, Q2 2022.”

As we looked to the future, we believe that these two business lines are ready to dedicate the full force of our focus, funding, and teams toward realizing an even stronger position in the Commerce and Personalization landscapes.

Moving forward, Monetate will be led by me, Brian Wilson as CEO. The personalization business will also be a fully remote work environment, with Monetate employees working all over the world.

Kibo, the commerce business, will retain the existing Kibo brand. Kibo’s new CEO will be Ram Venkataraman. Kibo will retain its headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

The continued partnership and bond between the Monetate and Kibo teams will benefit customers going forward, opening the door to unique partnering opportunities for mutual customers.

In most cases, there will not be staffing changes that affect our clients. If there are exceptions, we will work collaboratively with these clients to ensure continuity and excellent quality of care. Both Monetate and Kibo retain our commitment to our customers and are working diligently to make sure that this spin-off will be a smooth transition for everyone.

Likewise, our partner community will remain a critical part of the move-forward success of both teams. The Monetate and Kibo organizations are looking forward to continuing the strong partnerships that we’ve collectively built over the years.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks, for future blogs and other exciting updates from both Monetate and Kibo as we take off on this new adventure and reach new heights.

If you’re a current Kibo customer, you’ll hear from our team soon regarding next steps.

What an amazing time to be at Monetate and Kibo and embarking on this new journey.

I am excited about the bright future for both businesses as we continue to evolve and help our customers deliver personalized digital brand experiences.

Brian Wilson
CEO of Monetate