(11 January 2008 5:25 pm)

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate News Corp has announced the name of Mauro Montanaro as the CEO of mobile entertainment company Jamba.

Montanaro joins Jamba after more than a decade at Nokia, where he most recently headed cell phone sales and channel development for the South East Asia Pacific region.

A JV between News Corp and VeriSign, Jamba serves 35 territories around the world with a wide array of mobile products and services. It also houses the assets of Fox Mobile Entertainment.

News Corp president, COO Peter Chernin says, “Mauro’s considerable experience in developing mobile content channels and services will be a huge asset as Jamba continues to expand its reach and offering. Over the past few months, COO Lee Fenton has done a terrific job in moving the company forward and we think we’re in a position today to make a significant impact on the global wireless market. We look forward to building on that success and believe Mauro and Lee will make a first-class management team.”

Jamba, known as Jamster in the US, UK and other countries, claims to be able to reach one billion consumers around the globe. The company adds that it connects people with their passions in 35 countries on five continents and in 25 languages.

Branded content from around the world including The Simpsons, chart-topping ringtones from music labels, mobile games from game developers, and original content made exclusively for mobile phones, allows Jamba to give consumers what they want, when they want it and where they want it.