Former global CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association and former Microsoft Bluetooth executive will be tasked with leading an aggressive growth strategy
Australian mobile apps and Web development startup, Appster, has appointed the former global CEO of the Mobile Marketing Association and Microsoft Bluetooth executive as its first global chief marketing officer.
Mike Wehrs will be based out of the company’s US business and also takes over as head of US operations, effective immediately. On his priority list are aggressively growing Appster’s US business, building global partnerships and consolidating the vendor’s marketing function.
Wehr was most recently CEO, president and chairman of cloud-based mobile engagement solutions company, Scanbuy. His extensive career also includes global CEO and president of the Mobile Marketing Association, and several roles at Microsoft including as founding evangelist and board leader for Bluetooth.
Wehr was most recently a senior consultant to the GS1 board as well as a board member for GS1 Data Excellence.
In a statement, Wehrs noted Appster’s growing role helping startups with their product design and development capabilities.
“The transformational nature of the business is a perfect fit for me and the impact I want to continue having on the global startup ecosystem,” he said. “Appster could not be in a better position for rapid scaling; it’s debt free with no outside capital, and has been funded by its own success.”
Appster was founded in Australia in 2011 and has offices in Melbourne, the US and India. The company has forecast $25 million in revenue this financial year and plans to increase its total headcount to 300 staff in coming months.
Appster’s director and co-founder, Mark McDonald, said Wehr was one of several strategic hires to the executive team in the past six months. Other noted appointments include Sanjeev Handa as chief financial officer, and former Woolworth training manager and head of sales and operations for Australian Stock Report, Vincent De Stefano.
“Mike has a long track record of understanding the potential of new business concepts and technologies and scaling them to global consumption,” McDonald said. “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.”
Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO Australia conversation on LinkedIn: CMO Australia, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia
In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?
As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.
