RGM Group of Venice on Wednesday said that it raised $21 million in a funding round and has brought on a new chief executive.

RGM operates a network of online publications. Also, the company’s RGM Alliance division places ads from premium and luxury brands. RGM reaches 350 publications, including 34 new sites this year.

RGM said the money came from Riordan, Lewis & Haden Equity Partners of Los Angeles. The money will be used to accelerate its national sales and product development work, targeting premium brands. It already has offices in New York, San Francisco and San Diego, and plans to open a Chicago office this year.

As part of the funding, the company has hired as chief executive Kurt Johnson, the former chief executive of FastClick and a former chief financial officer at Westlake Village’s ValueClick Inc., which acquired FastClick in 2005.

RGM’s former chief executive, Kamran Razavi, becomes chief strategy officer at the company he helped found in 2004. Riordan, Lewis’ managing director Chris Lewis and principal Ryan Smiley have joined the company’s board, along with Rod Rodin, former chief executive of Marshall Industries.

“As we looked at opportunities within the rapidly growing digital media industry, RGM clearly stood out as a company well-positioned to deliver differentiated, value-added solutions for premium brand advertisers in a dynamic marketplace,” Lewis said in a statement.