GSI Commerce Inc. has hired Forbes Media executive Bill Mills to lead merger and acquisition efforts in its Global Marketing Services division.

Mills, who has also worked on corporate expansion activities at Zingy Inc. and DoubleClick Inc., has joined GSI as vice president of corporate development in a division that has grown nearly five-fold since 2007, to $127.6 million in annual revenue from $26.9 million. That growth has come largely through the acquisitions of companies including e-mail services provider e-Dialog, interactive marketing agency Silverlign, online marketing firm and affiliate network Pepperjam, M3 Mobile Marketing and Fetchback Inc., a provider of marketing systems that re-target consumers that have abandoned a web site.

By bringing in a veteran in mergers and acquisitions, GSI is positioning itself to continue its aggressive expansion.

“Bill’s extensive experience leading M&A activities in the media and digital segments will be a valuable asset to GSI as we continue to seek opportunities to expand and strengthen our services,” says Chris Saridakis, CEO of the global marketing services division.

“With our existing offerings and expanding capabilities, we’re well positioned to become a global leader in end-to-end marketing services, addressing all aspects of interactive marketing with a level of sophistication GSI clients have come to expect.”

Mills, who has more than 20 years of experience in corporate development, has been involved in more than 80 mergers and acquisitions, GSI says. He most recently worked as senior vice president of corporate development at Forbes Media. Prior to Forbes, Mills was CEO and chief financial officer of Zingy Inc., a provider of content for mobile devices, and vice president of corporate development at online marketing services firm DoubleClick Inc., an online ad-serving network now owned by Google Inc.