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Tag: ceo

  • Vyke Names New CEO, Confident of Continued Growth


    Vyke has appointed Kim Berknov as chief executive, effective from April 1.

    The announcement came as the VoIP service provider forecast it will meet market expectations for 2009.

    However, Vyke, which had expected to have a positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) figure by the end of 2008, said it now expected a loss of GBP 3.5 million for 2008, before exceptional costs of GBP 1.75 million.

    It expects a 46 per cent rise in gross billings to GBP 39 million for 2008.

    Despite this, Tommy Jensen, executive chairman of Vyke, said prospects for 2009 were encouraging with the company benefitting from acquisitions and a new product.

    Tommy Jensen, executive chairman Vyke

    "Trading in the current year has started strongly with the full effect of the cost synergies related to the acquisition of Callserve and Iios being realised during the first half of 2009," he said.

    The company expects to release its multi-channel Vyke Air platform, a new mobile service, next month.

    Earlier this month Vyke announced it had formed a partnership with mobile social networking company Nimbuzz.
    The move is intended to build upon the strengths of both Vyke and Nimbuzz by combining the former’s paid mVoIP service with the latter’s mobile peer to peer mobile social messaging and VoIP services.

    Vyke, which provides VoIP mobile services, expects gross billings for 2009 to be no less than GBP 70 million pounds (USD $97.49 million), with an EBITDA of at least GBP 3 million pounds.

    The company said this will include an expected continued growth rate of around 3,000 paid users per day.

    Berknov is currently managing director of Structured Investment Products plc and Evergreen Capital Partners Limited and holds a number of non-executive board positions in private companies.

    He has previously held positions as executive vice president of Aldata Solution Oyj and managing director of Digital Mountain AG, TransConnect Corporate Finance GmbH and GE Capital IT Solutions.

    Before joining those companies, Berknov was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and previously held international sales and marketing positions at both AT&T and NCR Corporation.

  • Mobile Tag Steps Up Global Drive: Appoints William Hoffman as US CEO


    European 2D barcode leader MTag has set up a US sister company as part of its expansion plans.

    It has appointed William "Chip" Hoffman as CEO of the new venture, Mobile Tag, Inc.

    Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Hoffman will head a global mobile marketing campaign for the company’s mobile barcode technologies and services.

    Already well established in Europe, MTag specialises in mobile handset software solutions.

    It has two main products: mobiletag and MEEPASS.

    Launched in 2006, mobiletag is an embedded software application that allows mobile phones to read 2D barcodes, otherwise known as tags, simply by using the phone’s camera.

    MTag developed the software to create quick access to external content.

    Example of Mobiletag web tag

    The French company received a venture capital investment of 4 million euros in October 2008, funded by new lead investor Alven Capital and by existing shareholders (XangeCapital and IDF Capital).

    MTag launched MEEPASS, a new mobile identification product, at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    Hoffman was responsible for the large-scale operations of mBlox, Inc., Dobson Communications, Advanced TelCom Group, Sprint and Logix Communications Enterprises.

    He has worked closely with companies like Publicis, Interpublic Group, BBDO-Omnicom, and others on interactive advertising using mobile telecommunications technology.

    More recently he was CEO of NeoMedia Technologies, Inc, where he helped develop a global technical and financial system for mobile barcodes.

    Earlier in his career, Hoffman served 8 years with Sprint managing business clients from the Global 10 to small and medium-sized business customers.

  • Expansion Planned as Csathy Named President and CEO of Sorenson Media







    Sorenson Media has named Peter Csathy as its president and chief executive officer (CEO).

    Csathy is a 20-year veteran of the digital media industry with significant expertise in the online video arena.

    Sorenson Media specializes in online video compression and encoding technology and solutions.

    Csathy said he was looking forward to driving the company into new high growth areas.

    "Internet video is still in its early innings, and we see an opportunity to become a significant player in this multi-billion dollar and transformative industry," he said.

    Peter Csathy, CEO Sorensen Media

    Csathy worked in C-level roles at three successful high-growth companies, including most recently as CEO of SightSpeed, president and chief operating officer (COO) of Musicmatch, and COO of eNow.

    SightSpeed was acquired by Logitech late in 2008, in the midst of the current economic meltdown; Musicmatch was acquired by Yahoo in 2004; and eNow was acquired by AOL-Time Warner in 2006.

    Prior to these positions, Csathy served as senior VP at Universal Studios, with responsibility for driving and executing all national and global new business opportunities, M&A activity, strategic partnerships and initiatives for that company’s Recreation Group.

    He has also worked as a senior executive at Savoy Pictures Entertainment and New Line Cinema, after launching his career as a media and intellectual property attorney for clients in the motion picture and music industries.

    Csathy obtained his JD from Harvard University and his bachelor’s degree in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota.

    He will direct all areas of Soreson Media’s operations and strategic initiatives.

  • OnRelay's Ivar Plahte Wins Smartphone-biz.news' Person of the Year Award


    A true visionary, a trend spotter, truly innovative and the driving force behind OnRelay.

    Just some of the plaudits from those that voted OnRelay’s CEO and co-founder Ivar Plahte as smartphone-biz.news’ Person of the Year 2008.

    In second place was Ofer Tziperman, president and co-founder of LocatioNet, the mapping and location applications company.

    As CEO of OnRelay for the past seven years, Plahte has established himself as a key thought leader in the Fixed Mobile Convergence space.

    Prior to OnRelay, Plahte was director of IP telephony at Telenor, where he created and was the general manager of the Telecom over IP business unit.

    Ivar Plahte, CEO OnRelay

    His team produced several world-first launches and was among the first public operators worldwide to establish a voice over IP based revenue stream.

    Before Telenor, Plahte was Ericsson’s global product manager for IP Services.

    He has a BSc in Electrical Engineering and an MSc in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

    Voters who recommended Plahte spoke of his vision and drive.

    "Ivar has been at the forefront of Mobile telephony for his entire career," said one reader.

    "He founded OnRelay to develop cellular FMC and only recently has the market managed to get over the WiFi hype and start to take the cellular option seriously.

    "Ivar has been there all along, and now has his company well positioned to capture the market as it looks for the right solution."

    Others described him as a "telecoms pioneer" whose vision predicted FMC shift back in 2000 and did something about it – "picking the right tech and staying at it".

    The last word must go to one supporter, who simply said "he rocks". Praise indeed.

    The runner-up, Ofer Tziperman, has over a decade of extensive experience in international business and in the marketing of high-tech products.

    LocatioNet provides mapping and location enabled applications to tier one telecom and defense customers around the world.

    Under Tziperman’s guidance the company has become one of the leading technology providers in the LBS and C4I markets, with an international presence in Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia.

    Prior to establishing LocatioNet, he served as VP Marketing for OTI, a public high-tech company listed in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and NASDAQ that specializes in contactless smart card technology.

    Tziperman played a major role in turning OTI from a young start-up company to an international organization with subsidiaries and front offices around the world.

    An attorney who practiced commercial and business law, he holds an LLB degree from the Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of the Israeli Naval Officers Academy.

  • Apple's Cook Strong Stand-in During Steve Jobs' Absence

    Apple COO Tim Cook is take over the company’s day-to-day running after it was announced that Steve Jobs is to take a six month medical leave of absence.

    Having previously stepped into the CEO post when Jobs was treated for pancreatic cancer, there is no doubt about his leadership abilities.

    A veteran employee of large companies in the technology industry, he has an MBA from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University.

    Tim Cook, Apple’s COO

    He started his career at IBM – where he went on to head its manufacturing and distribution functions.

    This was followed by a stint as vice president of Corporate Materials for Compaq before he took up his position at Apple in March 1998 as the Chief Operating Officer.

    This has seen him take responsibility for the company’s worldwide sales and operations.

    So, a more than capable stand-in which should ensure Jobs will be able to concentrate on regaining his health without having to worry about Apple’s.

    The following is the email Job’s sent to all Apple employees:

    Team,

    I am sure all of you saw my letter last week sharing something very personal with the Apple community. Unfortunately, the curiosity over my personal health continues to be a distraction not only for me and my family, but everyone else at Apple as well. In addition, during the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought.

    In order to take myself out of the limelight and focus on my health, and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products, I have decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June.

    I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for Apple’s day to day operations, and I know he and the rest of the executive management team will do a great job. As CEO, I plan to remain involved in major strategic decisions while I am out. Our board of directors fully supports this plan.

    I look forward to seeing all of you this summer.

    Steve

  • Wehrs Named As New MMA President & CEO


    Former Nuance exececutive Mike Wehrs has been appointed president and CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association.

    The move follows the departure of Laura Marriott.

    Mike Wehrs, CEO MMA

    Wehrs joins the MMA from Nuance Communications, where he was vice president of Industry Affairs and Evangelism.

    He has also served on the board of directors and executive committees for a number of organisations, including the CTIA.

    In the new role Wehrs is to concentrate on promoting the MMA’s charter to "build a sustainable ecosystem for the mobile marketing industry globally, focusing on delivering benefits to MMA members, establishing guidelines and best practices for future growth, and driving mobile adoption worldwide".

  • Intelsat announces appointment of acting Chief Financial Officer

    Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, has appointed its Chief Executive Officer, David McGlade, as acting Chief Financial Officer.
    The announcment follows the resignation of Jeffrey Freimark from the position of CFO, a move that was effective from June 5. He is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
    Mr McGlade will also continue to serve as CEO while an external search for a permanent CFO is carried out.
    In a statement, Mr McGlade said: “Jeff’s oversight of the PanAmSat acquisition financing and his involvement in the integration process, together with his focus on assuring our compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, were important factors in our corporate success over the past few years.
    “We thank him for his contributions to Intelsat, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. Our business is performing well.
    “Last month, Intelsat reported a strong quarter with record revenues and successfully launched the Galaxy 18 satellite.
    “We remain focused on executing our proven business plan.”