As iStockphoto’s newly promoted chief operating officer Kelly Thompson told Selling Stock a month ago, the company has officially announced the opening of its European headquarters in Berlin. Dittmar Frohmann, formerly a regional director at Fotolia, has joined iStockphoto as European director.
The Berlin office opens for business on Oct. 1. In addition to managing the German market, which is among iStock’s largest outside of North America, the Berlin office will supervise and manage marketing and client relations for the region. iStock employees in the Berlin call center will offer support in English, German and French. The Calgary, Canada call center will continue to offer services in Spanish, French, Italian and Polish.
iStock's new European director was born in West Berlin. In addition to executive experience with one of the top microstock companies and a prior illustrious music-marketing career, Frohmann holds two degrees in marketing and business from British universities. Reporting to Catherine Gluckstein, vice president of international markets and corporate expansion, he has already assembled a team of several marketers and customer-service experts and plans to hire several more people in the coming year.
Frohmann admits to being a longtime admirer of iStock. “It is rare in a maturing market to find that its originator is still fresh, exciting and innovative. I like that iStock remains committed to community and continues to come up with new ideas, features, markets, products and services. I wanted to be a part of that effort because I share that drive for creativity, growth and constant achievement,” he explained.