The COO of a wiki hosting platform has been named a strategic advisor for a local venture-backed tech company.

Grand Rapids-based Varsity News Network, or VNN, a platform for high school sports websites, said last week it has appointed Wikia COO Walker Jacobs to its growing strategic advisory board.

Jacobs is the third member of VNN’s advisory board, which provides insight on strategic initiatives and goals to the company’s board of directors.

VNN CEO and co-founder Ryan Vaughn called Jacobs a “recognized leader in the world of sports and digital media.”

Jacobs' background

Jacobs was appointed COO of Wikia in March 2015.

Previously, he served as the president and chief revenue officer at Clear Channel Outdoor, SVP and EVP of Turner Broadcasting System and president and SVP at Reuters.

Jacobs has been recognized for his work has been named one of AdWeek's “20 to Watch.” He's also been Digital Leadership Academy’s Executive of the Year and a "Media Week 50" honoree.

He also serves as an advisor to MediaMath, BOXFISH, OneSpot, Velocity Made Good and Earshot.

VNN

Founded in 2011, VNN said it is the web and mobile platform for more than 10 percent of U.S. high school athletic websites.

VNN said its hyper-local sports content reaches more than seven-million fans across more than 40 states, and its network and adds more than 8,000 fans daily.