DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MapQuest, a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), today announced Vijay R. Bangaru has been named vice president of product management, the third executive hire at the online mapping company in as many months. Bangaru will be located at MapQuest’s Denver headquarters and will drive innovation around mapping and location-based services, an area of large growth for MapQuest. In addition, Bangaru will be responsible for the overall user experience on MapQuest consumer products, including mobile applications, developer tools and services, and delivering key features that drive engagement, delight users and meet business customer needs.
“Bangaru brings to MapQuest deep knowledge of integrated product development with tenured experience in product planning and an aptitude for solving real world consumer needs,” said Christian Dwyer, senior vice president and general manager, MapQuest. “Vijay has a strong track record of ideating and delivering products to market, and the MapQuest team is delighted to welcome him to the Denver office.”
Bangaru joins MapQuest following his tenure with Google Docs and Google Apps, where he was most recently responsible for all aspects of product development from vision, feature specification, user interface design, technical design to partner relations and acquisitions. Prior positions include program manager at Microsoft, where he worked on the WinFS project and strategy for the SQL Server, and software development engineer at Xilinx. Bangaru graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., with a bachelor’s of science in both computer engineering and electrical engineering.
A graduate of Colorado’s Fairview High School in Boulder, Bangaru joins recent hires Patrick McDevitt, vice president of engineering, and Anke Corbin, vice president of marketing, in MapQuest’s continually growing talent base. The online mapping organization rolled out a new brand identity and user interface in July 2010, working to reinvigorate the consumer experience with new features, free developer APIs and an investment in open-source mapping through OpenStreetMap. MapQuest is the 20th most trafficked website on the Internet, reaching 1 in 5 users.** The company’s strategic initiatives and award-winning work have helped attract top talent from a variety of industries.
**comScore Media Metrix, March 2011
About MapQuest
MapQuest provides Internet, mobile, and business solutions delivering on the promise of helping people research and discover: where is it, how I get there and what’s nearby. MapQuest is one of the leading mapping brands online, offering maps and directions, and reaching nearly 42.7 million unique visitors in March 2011, according to comScore Media Metrix. MapQuest’s mobile solutions are compatible with a variety of mobile devices, including iPhone and BlackBerry devices. MapQuest, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Inc, is based in Denver, Colo.