Intelligent Life Corp announced friday that it has hired Edward Vermont (“Monty”) Blanchard, Jr. as Executive Vice President for Strategy and Acquisitions. Mr. Blanchard’s responsibilities will include identifying and consummating acquisitions and other strategic ventures for Intelligent Life. Intelligent Life is committed to a growth strategy, as outlined in its recent registration statement, which includes acquisitions. The Company has expressed its desire to expand original editorial content and research on consumer financial subjects including banking and credit, insurance, taxes, investing and planning.
“Retaining an executive with Monty Blanchard’s qualifications reinforces the commitment our company has made to expansion through acquisition. We have worked together for a number of years, and I am sure he will work to find and close the right deals quickly and effectively for our shareholders,” said William P. Anderson, President and CEO of Intelligent Life. “We want to move quickly; having Monty on board will help us do that.”
“I am pleased to join the outstanding management team Bill has assembled, and I am excited at the prospect of helping to build a great internet-based financial services company,” Mr. Blanchard said.
Mr. Blanchard is a former Managing Director and co-head of the Financial Institutions Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. While at Merrill Lynch, Mr. Blanchard served as strategic M&A Advisor for a number of the firm’s large financial service clients in the insurance, asset management, credit card, consumer and commercial financial industries. In addition, he acted as a senior internal M&A Advisor and negotiator for a number of Merrill Lynch’s own acquisitions, including Smith New Court (U.K.), Macintosh Securities (Australia), Mercury Asset Management (U.K.), Midland Walwyn (Canada) and the takeover of selected former branches of Yamaichi Securities in Japan. Mr. Blanchard has worked as an investment banker since 1979 and was employed at Merrill Lynch from 1966 to 1999. He has a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
About Intelligent Life Corp.
Intelligent Life Corporation is a new media publisher. It creates original editorial content relating to personal finance and publishes this content through its Internet sites Bankrate.com, theWhiz.com, Consejero.com and CPNet.com. Through its Bankrate.com site, the Company provides consumers with independent, objective research on banking and credit products including mortgages, home equity loans and credit cards. In addition, this information is published on co-branded Internet sites through more than 60 distribution arrangements, including many of the leading online publishers of financial information. Its original research is also distributed in print through major national and local publications. In the fourth quarter of 1998, Bankrate.com had more than 1.3 million unique visitors, according to Media Metrix.
