Macheen Inc. Announces New Marketing VP and Advisory Board

AUSTIN, Texas, May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Macheen Inc., which enables any device maker or electronics retailer to deliver always-available, out-of-the-box Internet connectivity, today announced that Kent Libbey, a communications and software industry veteran, has joined the company as Vice President of Marketing.  The company also announced the creation of a new Advisory Board and its charter members, wireless technology veterans Carmel Sofer and Daniel Shader.  

Kent Libbey brings over 20 years of marketing leadership in telecommunications, media, software and cloud-based applications.  Most recently, he was co-founder and CEO of Sharegrove, an innovative real-time communications service, acquired by Facebook in 2010.  Before that he was Chief Marketing Officer of Laszlo Systems, a pioneer of Web 2.0 applications.  And in lead marketing and product management roles at Microsoft and Excite@Home, Libbey helped to define and drive new ecosystems around broadband TV--aligning content, equipment and service providers globally.  He is based in Silicon Valley where he will help to establish partnerships and market presence.  

"Kent brings a unique blend of executive experience, with a record of success at aligning new communications ecosystems," said Richard Schwartz, CEO and President of Macheen.  "We see a period of tremendous change and opportunity in services for connected devices, driven by new business models for content, device and service providers, and influenced by the success of Amazon's Kindle and Apple's App Store.  Kent has repeatedly navigated such opportunities in the past and will bring invaluable insights to Macheen as we capitalize on this change."

Complementing the addition of Libbey to Macheen's leadership team, Schwartz also announced the establishment of a new Advisory Board—to provide Macheen with the expertise and consultation in several areas, including strategic planning and industry relations.  Mobile and Internet industry veterans Daniel Shader and Carmel Sofer will be charter members of the board.

"Danny and Carmel—both highly successful and widely recognized industry leaders bring unique skills in driving converging wireless and industry market changes," commented Schwartz.  "After a successful run at Netscape in the early Internet days, Danny pioneered enterprise data and messaging services as CEO of Good Technology and machine-to-machine (M2M) services as CEO of Jasper Wireless.   Meanwhile, Carmel's work also crosses converging lines of wireless and telecom value-added services. Carmel founded Starhome, the industry pioneer for roaming wireless services and inter-carrier commercial settlements while an executive at Comverse Technologies, then later became a venture capitalist at Gemini.  Carmel brings a wealth of knowledge in how to navigate the waters between carrier partnerships and new Internet and cloud business models. "

Libbey added: "Macheen's business relationships with Dell and Sprint are testament to Macheen's unique ability to enable devices that ship 'hot' with mobile connectivity across the world.  I see Macheen as a game changer not only for device makers and users, but also for cloud-based content, application and service providers looking for new business models to support continuous mobile access to their offerings."

About Kent Libbey, Vice President of Marketing

Most recently, Kent was the CEO of Sharegrove, a cloud-based communications start-up he co-founded, which was acquired by Facebook in 2010.  Before that, he was Chief Marketing Officer of Laszlo Systems, a leading provider of open-source Web 2.0 developer tools, adopted worldwide in multiple markets—including consumer, enterprise, education and government. Previously, at Microsoft, Kent led the definition and launch of a transformative new pay-TV delivery platform, widely adopted by tier-one carriers—including AT&T, BT and Deutsche Telekom—as well as a global ecosystem of device manufacturers and content providers.  His early career in marketing involved voice and video services at MCI and Verizon.  Kent holds a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

About Carmel Sofer, Advisory Board Member

Carmel is an accomplished entrepreneur, VC investor and senior executive.  He is currently consultant and advisor to a number of high tech companies in the telecommunications and enterprise networking areas.  Prior, he was a General Partner at Gemini Israel Venture capital fund focusing on investments in the areas of Telecommunications, Media and Internet infrastructure. He joined Gemini after a distinguished career in the wireless and communications industry.  Carmel was the President of Comverse Europe, where he refocused strategy, increasing sales and enhancing Comverse's position in Europe and Asia Pacific. In 1999, Mr. Sofer founded and was CEO of Starhome, a global leader in voice and data roaming services.

About Daniel Shader, Advisory Board Member

Danny Shader is the founder and CEO of PayNearMe, the cash payment network. PayNearMe enables consumers who do not have a credit or debit card or who simply prefer cash to conduct remote business transactions safely and easily. Prior to PayNearMe, Danny served as CEO of Jasper Wireless, Inc. Before Jasper, Danny served as the President and CEO of Good Technology, Inc., the leader in standards-based enterprise wireless messaging and data access, which Motorola acquired in 2007. Before Good, Danny served as a vice president and general manager at Amazon.com, which he joined when Amazon acquired Accept.com, the first consumer-to-consumer payment services company, which Danny co-founded and led as CEO. Danny earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

About Macheen

Macheen enables device makers and retailers to deliver products that are pre-connected to mobile broadband networks across the world.  Macheen's proven, multi-tenant cloud-based platform enables new business models for device makers, retailers, content providers and network operators alike. We deliver breakthrough value to significantly increase adoption rates and drive market penetration of connected devices and content services. Macheen is a global corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a wholly owned subsidiary in Germany (Macheen GmbH). Visit http://www.macheen.com.

SOURCE Macheen Inc.