Experienced corporate executive to help company expand offerings and drive growth in multi-billion dollar market
CHICAGO, January 12, 2015 — VISANOW, a leading provider of online immigration services in the U.S., today announced that Dick Burke, a seasoned corporate executive, has joined the company as President and CEO and will join the company’s board of directors. Burke will lead development of the overall company strategy, marketing, sales, finance, business development and technology, while managing all day-to-day operations. Robert Meltzer, who founded VISANOW in 1998 and served as President and CEO, is taking on a new role of Chief Immigration Strategist and will remain on the company’s board of directors.
“VISANOW is coming off an enormously successful 2014, including record revenue, a rapidly expanding customer base and a significant outside capital raise,” said Scott Griffith, Chairman of VISANOW’s Board of Directors and an Executive-in-Residence (XIR) at General Catalyst Partners, which invested in the company last Fall. “Dick’s broad experience, his success at helping grow businesses and his personal passion for our mission make him the perfect fit to lead VISANOW as we pursue our vision to be a disruptive force in the immigration services sector.”
Prior to joining VISANOW, Burke served in the top leadership role as President of Apartments.com, where he managed all of the business operations including the sales, marketing and finance sectors as well as the product development, production, customer service and technology departments. Under his tenure, the business attained all-time highs in customers, traffic and revenues, helping to fuel its successful sale to CoStar Group last spring.
Prior to leading Apartments.com, Dick served in several executive roles at Classified Ventures (the parent company of Apartments.com and Cars.com) during his 16 years with the company. As Senior Vice President of Administration and Corporate Development for Classified Ventures, he led the company’s Corporate Services division, comprising corporate technology, finance, legal, human resources, communications, facilities and corporate development.
Prior to joining Classified Ventures, LLC, Burke practiced law at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C. and preceding that at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Burke received a Bachelor of Arts degree from College of the Holy Cross in 1986, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1990.
“Bob, the VISANOW employees and the team at General Catalyst have created a huge opportunity to disrupt an industry by providing highly effective immigration services that help businesses compete, individuals succeed and families reconnect,” said Burke. “I look forward to building on this foundation to make VISANOW another great Chicago success story.”
Focused on individuals and small to medium businesses (SMBs), VISANOW streamlines the tedious and confusing front end of the visa application process by automatically gathering required information, forms and documents from both the sponsor and applicant, then dynamically generating a complete, accurate and personalized application. The application is then filed on behalf of the applicant resulting in industry-leading success rates. Throughout the application process, the VISANOW technology platform enables customers to have the ability to see the status of their application and respond to attorney questions in real-time. This unique combination of automation, transparency and high customer touch offers an unparalleled user experience, helping clients save time, money and stress.
“It’s a highly dynamic time in the space, and we’re bringing in additional strong leadership to seize the opportunity and build our company for long term success,” said Meltzer. “I welcome Dick to the team as we deliver and scale up the best immigration services offerings in the market.”
About VISANOW
VISANOW is a leading provider of online immigration services in the U.S. that integrates the best of both people and technology to provide cost-effective, transparent visa application services. Its patented online process guarantees fast response times, easy access to case information and comprehensive customer support. Since inception in 1998, the company has assisted tens of thousands of immigrants, business people, and international travelers. More information is available at www.VISANOW.com.