Schutzler

Former Classmates.com CEO Michael Schutzler is fluent in German and English and knows a little Arabic too. So, when a recruiter approached the 48-year-old tech exec about the top post at the online language learning startup Livemocha, the opportunity immediately resonated.

"Foreign languages have always been a big part of my life," said Schutlzer. "And when I saw what they were building at Livemocha, I really fell in love with the potential that it represented."

Schutzler is taking the CEO reins from co-founder Shirish Nadkarni, the former Microsoft manager and TeamOn founder who started Livemocha in 2007. Nadkarni will stay with the company, serving as chairman and chief strategy officer.

But the board determined that it was time to recruit some executive firepower in order to grow the business. Livemocha currently offers online instruction in more than 30 languages and boasts more than six million registered members.

Schutzler said they plan to add languages and offer new services to enhance the learning experience. The company also plans to bring the online language service to new mobile platforms, including the iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

The key to the company's success to date has been utilizing online video and chat technology to match native speakers with those who are learning languages.

"The really great opportunity is to expand on this ... idea that the best way to learn a language is to be immersed in the experience and actually have a conversation with someone who speaks that language," said Schutzler. "That's the trick. You can't do it in a book, and you certainly are not going to learn a language by picking up a box on your way to the airport."

The company offers more than 160 hours of course materials to students for free, with premium programs available in nine languages for $12 to $15 per month. It also offers an "Active English" program with 12 courses and more than 100 conversational videos, 150 grammar slideshows and more.

Schutzler's appointment comes just six months after Livemocha raised $8 million from August Capital and Maveron, bringing total financing to $14 million. The company employs about 30 full time workers and contractors.

Most recently, Schutzler founded the executive consulting company CEOSherpa. Before that, he worked in executive roles at RealNetworks and Monster.com.