In his previous role as vice president 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.
As president and CEO at 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.
Russell Buckley, MMA global chairman and vice president of Global Alliances at AdMob, stated: “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.”
Appointed to lead MMA activities worldwide, 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.
Prior to Nuance Communications, Wehrs served as vice president, product management and global marketing for Tegic Communications, an AOL company. Prior to Tegic Communications, Wehrs worked at Microsoft, where he was responsible for driving industry adoption and business development opportunities in support of many of Microsoft’s Windows products.
“I am honoured and excited to lead the MMA at such an important time in its history,” said Wehrs. “The mobile channel has been experiencing tremendous growth, and marketers worldwide are embracing mobile marketing as an essential component of their global advertising strategies, capitalizing 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.”