LITTLE ROCK — Inuvo Inc., an Internet marketing company, is moving its headquarters from New York City to Conway, the publicly traded company said Thursday.
Inuvo employs 50 people and is in the process of moving them to its new location at 1111 Main St., where the company plans to have 30 employees by the end of the year, said Richard Howe, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer.
The company received $1.75 million from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund to help with moving and equipment costs, said Joe Holmes, spokesman for Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Inuvo develops consumer applications that deliver targeted advertisements to websites owned by the company and its partners.
On Jan. 23, the company reported preliminary unaudited revenue of $53.3 million for the 2012 fiscal year, a $35.8 million increase from the previous year.
A family atmosphere, education environment and “talent pool” attracted the company to Conway, said Howe, who has ties to Arkansas.
Howe was chief marketing officer at Little Rock-based Acxiom Corp. before joining Inuvo in 2008.
Inuvo shares an office with PrivacyStar, another technology company that expanded its operations to Conway in 2012.
Charles Morgan, executive chairman of PrivacyStar, sits on Inuvo’s board of directors. Morgan is also a former chief executive of Acxiom.
Howe said Inuvo hopes to have 50 employees in Conway within the next four years, either by moving or by hiring.
“It’s a mixed bag,” he said.“We are trying to move as many people as we can, but we will also be hiring people.”
Shares of Inuvo rose 7.8 percent Thursday after the company announced its move to Conway. The shares (INUV) rose 6 cents to close at 83 cents in light trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Business, Pages 29 on 02/01/2013