F.Y.I.

Appster appoints new head of marketing and US operations

Appster brings in Microsoft’s Mike Wehrs as CMO and to head up US operations.

The release:

Appster, Australia’s fastest growing mobile app and web development company, today announces the appointment of Mike Wehrs, the former Mobile Marketing Association Global CEO and Microsoft executive as Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of US Operations effective immediately.  

Mr Wehrs is an accomplished mobile and technology industry veteran, marketeer and leader who has grown multiple new business concepts and technologies into globally-recognised products and industries. He will be based out of Appster’s North American headquarters in San Francisco and is tasked with driving the company’s aggressive U.S. expansion, building global partnerships and consolidating the marketing function at Appster.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Wehrs says, “Appster has helped many aspiring entrepreneurs and startups realise the potential of their disruptive ideas by providing world-class product design and development capabilities. The transformational nature of their business is a perfect fit for me and the impact I want to continue having on the global startup ecosystem. Appster could not be in a better position for rapid scaling; its debt free with no outside capital and has been funded by its own success.”

Appster is forecasting $25m revenue by 2015 global financial year end, growing 850% since it founded in 2011. The organisation is also planning on increasing staff to 300 people globally in the coming months thereby delivering on its promise of continued rapid growth worldwide.

Mr Wehrs has been instrumental in driving the success of several organisations including Scanbuy (cloud-based mobile engagement solutions) as Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board; Global CEO and President of the Mobile Marketing Association; and several pivotal product areas within Microsoft as founding evangelist and original board member for Bluetooth, founder of the .mobi domain and credited with the strategic leadership for the Windows Experience Index. Most recently a senior consultant to the board of GS1 and Board Member of GS1 Data Excellence, throughout his versatile career, Mr Wehrs has led deal teams of M&A transitions totalling more than 1 billion in committed capital.

Prior to GS1, Mr Wehrs transformed Scanbuy, a company providing cloud-based mobile engagement solutions which bring products and information to life, from a small startup with a novel technology and a few tens of thousands of end user interactions a week to an organisation with many millions of users per month, $15 million in raised capital under his leadership and acquired global organisations as partners including AT&T, Microsoft and the Olympics.

Mr Wehrs has previously sat on the board of bNET Communications and held several Director positions at global organisations including Microsoft Corporation, Samsung Electronics America, Sony Electronics Inc. and Conner Peripherals Inc. He has also held C-level and Vice President level roles with Orcatron Communications Ltd, Nuance Communications and Tegic Communications, and was Principal at Ignition Partners Venture Capital.

Mark McDonald, Director and Co-Founder Appster says, “We are thrilled to welcome Mike to the Appster team. Mike has a long track record of understanding the potential of new business concepts and technologies and scaling them to global consumption. His work at Microsoft as the head of the Windows Experience Index forever changed how consumers purchase technology. We believe he will be able to take Appster into new markets and forge lasting relationships.”

In the past six months Appster added two more strategic hires to its executive team, Sanjeev Handa as Chief Financial Officer and Vincent De Stefano as Head of Sales. Mr Handa joined Appster in late 2014 from Aricent where he held the role of VP Finance and CFO for Product Engineering Services SBU and Whole Time Director. Mr De Stefano joined Appster in July 2014 from Woolworths Limited as Training Manager and Australian Stock Report where he was Head of Sales and Operations.

On the team Appster have built to date, Josiah Humphrey, Director and Co-Founder Appster concludes, “We understand the importance a strong team has on a company’s ability to succeed. Sanjeev, Vincent and Mike are all the best at what they do and share a common vision and passion for the future of Appster. We are confident this team will launch Appster into the stratosphere and build it into an organisation where the world’s greatest ideas and innovations are made a reality.”

Source: Taurus Marketing

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.