MMA appoints new president

“I am honoured and excited to lead the MMA at such an important time in its history,” said Wehrs on his appointment. “The mobile channel has been experiencing tremendous growth, and marketers worldwide are embracing mobile marketing as an essential component of their global advertising strategies, capitalising on its capability to establish a direct link with consumers on a global scale. I look forward to working together with MMA member companies, MMA board of directors and other industry leaders to ensure a vibrant and healthy mobile marketing ecosystem for all.”

As president and CEO of the MMA, Wehrs will continue to promote its 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.

“Grown tremendously”

Commented Russell Buckley, MMA global chairman and VP of global alliances at AdMob, “The MMA has grown tremendously in recent years in terms of membership and our geographic footprint, so we needed a person with world-class leadership skills combined with relevant experience and business acumen to continue to drive our success. After an extensive search, we found Mike to be the best person to lead the association's activities going forward.

“Mike is a proven leader with extensive international executive experience and an established track record within the global mobile industry.”

In his previous role as VP of industry affairs and evangelism at Nuance Communications, Wehrs was responsible for the company's overall mobile business strategy, product strategy, industry and public policy and a key member of the mergers and acquisitions team.

Wehrs has a range of industry association experience, having served on the board of directors and executive committees for organisations such as CTIA - The Wireless Association, Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and dotMobi Advisory Group, as well as being an active participant as board member or committee chair for many other industry bodies.

Various senior roles

Prior to Nuance Communications, Wehrs served as VP, product management and global marketing for Tegic Communications, an AOL company. As the product management visionary for Tegic's wireless platform and embedded products, and global marketing group leader, he also served as industry standards and public policy representative within a number of industry bodies. Prior to Tegic, he worked for Microsoft, where he was responsible for driving industry adoption and business development opportunities in support of many of Microsoft's Windows products. During his tenure there, Wehrs held various senior roles, working on technology and standards, as well as directing market research and product planning for Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices division.

For more information, go to www.mmaglobal.com.

• The South Africa Local Council of the MMA was established in November 2008 to lead the creation of guidelines and best practices and to educate and evangelise on the mobile channel in SA. The council is jointly chaired by Rick Joubert, Vodacom's head of mobile advertising, and Ahmed Ismail Kajee, chairman of the Vodacom Wireless Association Service Provider Council. For information on how to participate in the Local Council, contact the MMA membership team at .