- Developer of ClearMode Opens European Office; Names Industry Veteran Oliver Ruekgauer Senior Vice President, Europe -
CALGARY, ALBERTA - October 29, 2001 - Wmode, the creator of ClearModeä, the first wireless clearinghouse serving the worldwide mobile commerce market, announced today its expansion into Europe with the opening of a European office in Bern, Switzerland. Industry veteran Oliver Ruekgauer has been named senior vice president, Europe. In this role, Ruekgauer will be responsible for business development and will oversee the company's entire European operation.
ClearMode enables carriers, content providers and portals to charge users for wireless services and have those charges appear on the user's phone account, known as a Bill-to-Phone(tm) payment model. Since February 2000, Wmode has established ClearMode as the most cost effective and efficient system for monetizing content over the wireless Internet. The acceptance of ClearMode in North America is fueling interest among carriers and content providers across Europe, where wireless data services and SMS are already well-established, creating significant new opportunities for the company. "The opening of our European offices allows us to quickly penetrate a market that clearly has a demand for our technology," said Dennis Woronuk, president and CEO of Wmode. "We are very excited to have a wireless expert like Oliver heading up our European operations. His understanding of the wireless industry combined with his keen ability to identify and secure relationships makes him the ideal addition to our management team."
Ruekgauer joins Wmode after co-founding equity4mobile, a Swiss-based venture fund focused on the European wireless commerce industry. Ruekgauer previously served as head of e-business service at Swisscom AG, where he was responsible for all e-business activities and focused on business development with B2B and B2C portals as well as the launch of the first WAP-based m-services. Prior to Swisscom, he was a managing principal for e-business consulting at IBM's Global Services. During his tenure with IBM, Ruekgauer developed and implemented e-business strategies for companies in the retail, finance and travel industries. Ruekgauer holds a bachelor's degree in information science and a Master of Science degree in business administration both from the University of Bern, Switzerland.
"Wmode has the technology, commitment and vision to make a huge impact on the European market very quickly, and I am excited to be leading this operation," Ruekgauer said. "Companies in the European wireless market have already expressed an interest in an efficient system for generating and collecting revenue for wireless services."
Earlier this month, Wmode also announced the opening of a new U.S. office in Seattle, Wash., as well as the hiring of Chuck Napier as senior vice president of U.S. operations.
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