Vernon Irvin
Encyclopedia
Vernon L Irvin currently works as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Virtual World Computing (VWC) Prior to VWC, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for XM Satellite Radio
.
He previously held positions at MCI
; later he worked VeriSign
, where he oversaw the company's telecommunications unit.
suburb of Braddock, Pennsylvania
, one of three children of a US Steel worker and a beauty care lecturer, Irvin attended Swissvale High .
He moved into computing positions in the telecommunications industry, and then into senior management positions with several major communications companies, including MFS UUNET
, Ameritech
, and MCI. Irvin progressed from MCI sales into its marketing team, where he was part of the group that created "Friends & Family" as an economic way of driving revenues to MCI's relatively unknown network against AT&T
. He then moved back to Ameritech
before a brief stint WorldCom,
After a short stint at internet company e.spire Communications, Irvin was approached by Alfred Mockett and accepted in May 1999 the position of President of the Content and Media Hosting division of BT Ignite, the broadband and Internet services business of British Telecommunications, plc.. Tasked with building a content hosting and media proposition from a poorly developed and wholly UK-centric base, Irvin built the division into a $500 million applications infrastructure business with more than 2,000 employees by buying key assets in France and Germany, and developing a set of world class standards.
However, to build the division Irvin's team needed cash, and after the fallout of the dot.com boom and the drastic need to restructure BT in light of colossal debt, Irvin left BT. He again joined Mockett at American Management Systems (AMS) in February 2002, a business and IT consulting firm whose business at the time was mainly US Government driven, where he was the Executive Vice President of the global communications, media and entertainment division. Irvin was tasked with curtailing the company's declining revenues in its communications practice, where he commented at the time: "I believe that the victors in this new challenge will be the ones that understand how to evolve from traditional long distance revenues into a more Internet-centric, wireless-centric, content-centric world."
recognised that with VoIP products developing, the revenues could decrease. Irvin was hired as Executive Vice President and General Manager of VeriSign's Communications Services division.
In late 2004, VeriSign bought a relatively small Berlin-based company called Jamba
for $270 million. Jamba built mobile applications, games, ringtones and wallpaper, and was also in over 40 countries worldwide. The VeriSign team had recognised that there were twice as many mobile phones than computers, which also had inbuilt computer technology. Effectively, VeriSign now had a new content distribution platform which also integrated with the internet, which was both secure and auditable - now all they needed was the content.
While Irvin sourced content, Jamba became Jamster in the United States. Irvin struck a deal with Kevin Liles
, President of Warner Music Group, to provide mobile consumers with early access to hip-hop artist Mike Jones'
debut album "Who Is Mike Jones?" - in return, Jones created the first artist-endorsed Jamster ring-tone advertisement in the US. When "Who is Mike Jones" was released it debuted among the top 5 albums on the Billboard
charts and went on to sell over a million copies. The Crazy Frog
ring tone did the same in Europe.
Jamba/Jamster boomed - when VeriSign bought the business, it was making $15 million per quarter and 3 quarters later it was making $150 million a quarter - in 2005 the company made close to $600 million in revenue. VeriSign expanded Jamba/Jamster by the acquisitions of UNC-Embratel and Unimobile. Jamster also added to its revenues by adding "impulse purchasing" - when you downloaded one ringtone, you were offered others. This turned into interactive advertising, for which the mobile owner was charged, sometimes unknowingly. Controversy followed these services, including investigations in the United States and Europe that led to Jamba/Jamster's sale from VeriSign.
On 12 September 2006 News Corporation
announced it will pay approximately $188 million for 51% shares in Jamba! and will combine it with Fox Mobile Entertainment assets. On 23 October 2006 it was announced that Irvin would join XM Satellite Radio
as Chief Marketing Officer.
and the William and Mary School of Business and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley. He formerly served on the Board of the CTIA–The Wireless Association and the University of Southern California
's Center for Telecom Management and serves on the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council, collaborating with public safety and federal agencies and the communications industry on homeland security and emergency network issues.
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
.
He previously held positions at MCI
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
; later he worked VeriSign
VeriSign
Verisign, Inc. is an American company based in Dulles, Virginia that operates a diverse array of network infrastructure, including two of the Internet's thirteen root nameservers, the authoritative registry for the .com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains and the .cc and .tv country-code...
, where he oversaw the company's telecommunications unit.
Biography
Born in the PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
suburb of Braddock, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, one of three children of a US Steel worker and a beauty care lecturer, Irvin attended Swissvale High .
He moved into computing positions in the telecommunications industry, and then into senior management positions with several major communications companies, including MFS UUNET
UUNET
UUNET founded in 1987, was one of the largest Internet service providers and one of the nine Tier 1 networks. It was based in Northern Virginia and was the first commercial Internet service provider...
, Ameritech
Ameritech
AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation , was a U.S. telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies that was created following the breakup of the Bell System...
, and MCI. Irvin progressed from MCI sales into its marketing team, where he was part of the group that created "Friends & Family" as an economic way of driving revenues to MCI's relatively unknown network against AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
. He then moved back to Ameritech
Ameritech
AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation , was a U.S. telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies that was created following the breakup of the Bell System...
before a brief stint WorldCom,
After a short stint at internet company e.spire Communications, Irvin was approached by Alfred Mockett and accepted in May 1999 the position of President of the Content and Media Hosting division of BT Ignite, the broadband and Internet services business of British Telecommunications, plc.. Tasked with building a content hosting and media proposition from a poorly developed and wholly UK-centric base, Irvin built the division into a $500 million applications infrastructure business with more than 2,000 employees by buying key assets in France and Germany, and developing a set of world class standards.
However, to build the division Irvin's team needed cash, and after the fallout of the dot.com boom and the drastic need to restructure BT in light of colossal debt, Irvin left BT. He again joined Mockett at American Management Systems (AMS) in February 2002, a business and IT consulting firm whose business at the time was mainly US Government driven, where he was the Executive Vice President of the global communications, media and entertainment division. Irvin was tasked with curtailing the company's declining revenues in its communications practice, where he commented at the time: "I believe that the victors in this new challenge will be the ones that understand how to evolve from traditional long distance revenues into a more Internet-centric, wireless-centric, content-centric world."
VeriSign and Jamster
VeriSign is an Internet security company that added, through acquisitions, series of product lines which connect mobile network companies' text message networks together securely - in 2004, about 3 billion transactions per day. VeriSign CEO Stratton SclavosStratton Sclavos
Stratton Sclavos was chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of VeriSign, a security services and network infrastructure company, until his resignation on May 29, 2007. Sclavos has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California,...
recognised that with VoIP products developing, the revenues could decrease. Irvin was hired as Executive Vice President and General Manager of VeriSign's Communications Services division.
In late 2004, VeriSign bought a relatively small Berlin-based company called Jamba
Jamba
Places*Jamba, Cuando Cubango, Angola, former base of rebel group UNITA*Jamba, Huíla, Angola, location of the airport with the IATA code JMB *Jamba, Moxico Province, AngolaPeople*Almerindo Jaka Jamba, an Angolan politician...
for $270 million. Jamba built mobile applications, games, ringtones and wallpaper, and was also in over 40 countries worldwide. The VeriSign team had recognised that there were twice as many mobile phones than computers, which also had inbuilt computer technology. Effectively, VeriSign now had a new content distribution platform which also integrated with the internet, which was both secure and auditable - now all they needed was the content.
While Irvin sourced content, Jamba became Jamster in the United States. Irvin struck a deal with Kevin Liles
Kevin Liles
Kevin Liles is an American record executive. Liles was president of Def Jam Recordings and executive vice president of The Island Def Jam Music Group from 1999 to 2004...
, President of Warner Music Group, to provide mobile consumers with early access to hip-hop artist Mike Jones'
Mike Jones (rapper)
Michael "Mike" Jones is an American southern rap artist, who initially was affiliated with the record label Swishahouse, then left to be the owner of Ice Age Entertainment....
debut album "Who Is Mike Jones?" - in return, Jones created the first artist-endorsed Jamster ring-tone advertisement in the US. When "Who is Mike Jones" was released it debuted among the top 5 albums on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts and went on to sell over a million copies. The Crazy Frog
Crazy Frog
Crazy Frog, originally known as Adam King, is a computer-animated character created in 2003 by Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba!, the animation was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Daniel Malmedahl in 1997 while attempting to imitate the sound of a...
ring tone did the same in Europe.
Jamba/Jamster boomed - when VeriSign bought the business, it was making $15 million per quarter and 3 quarters later it was making $150 million a quarter - in 2005 the company made close to $600 million in revenue. VeriSign expanded Jamba/Jamster by the acquisitions of UNC-Embratel and Unimobile. Jamster also added to its revenues by adding "impulse purchasing" - when you downloaded one ringtone, you were offered others. This turned into interactive advertising, for which the mobile owner was charged, sometimes unknowingly. Controversy followed these services, including investigations in the United States and Europe that led to Jamba/Jamster's sale from VeriSign.
On 12 September 2006 News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
announced it will pay approximately $188 million for 51% shares in Jamba! and will combine it with Fox Mobile Entertainment assets. On 23 October 2006 it was announced that Irvin would join XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
as Chief Marketing Officer.
Other positions
Mr. Irvin serves on the boards of Reuters AmericaReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
and the William and Mary School of Business and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley. He formerly served on the Board of the CTIA–The Wireless Association and the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
's Center for Telecom Management and serves on the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council, collaborating with public safety and federal agencies and the communications industry on homeland security and emergency network issues.
External links
- http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromMktGuideIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml?passedMktGuideId=376958Vernon Irvin profile at Forbes.comForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
] - Bio at XM Radio
- AMS announcement re Irvin joining the company
- VeriSign Press Release re Irvin joining the company
- Contract offer letter
- Interview with "The Ringtone Czar"
- ITConversations - audio with Vernon Irvin