Top 10 Mobile Industry Execs to Watch in 2011

Sanjiv Ahuja


Top 10 Mobile Industry Execs to Watch in 2011

Here are our picks for the people to watch in mobile in 2011 -- folks that may not be your radar now, but definitely should be (in alphabetical order):

1. Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and CEO, LightSquared
This Long Term Evolution (LTE) startup operator has the potential to shake up the US mobile broadband scene with its wholesale, hybrid terrestrial/satellite model. Ahuja is no stranger to the C-level -- as a former CEO of France Telecom SA (NYSE: FTE)'s Orange mobile operation from 2004 to 2007 -- but can he deliver the promise of LighSquared? (See Harbinger Hatches LTE Challenger in US, LightSquared Lands $850M for LTE Build , and LightSquared Names LTE Suppliers.)

2. Tony Bates, CEO, Skype Ltd.
Why? Well, the first LTE networks are live now and none of them can deliver voice services. Until operators resolve how to deliver voice over LTE (VoLTE), there is an opportunity for over-the-top voice providers like Bates's Skype to step in and fill that service gap. So will they, or can they, do it next year? (See LTE Voice Lag Leaves Operators Vulnerable , Operators Rally Round IMS for LTE Voice, Voice Over LTE & the 'IMS Gap', and MetroPCS Plots LTE Smartphones, VoLTE Trials.)

3. Bill Huang, general manager, China Mobile Communications Corp. 's Research Institute
Huang is the public face of Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex (LTE TDD), which is the version of LTE championed by China Mobile. Next year is critical for LTE TDD as China Mobile expands its user trials and the mobile broadband technology is expected to take root in India. So what Huang says will be an important indication of the technology's maturation. (See Teeing Up LTE TDD and China Mobile Opens Up on LTE TDD Trials .)

4. Alexander Izosimov, group CEO, VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP)
Izosimov is leading the charge to create a new emerging market mobile operator powerhouse through a $6.5 billion deal to merge VimpelCom with Weather Investments, which owns Orascom Telecom and Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA . (See Telenor Opposes VimpelCom Acquisition and VimpelCom Gets Wind.)

5. Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and joint managing director, Bharti Airtel Ltd. (Mumbai: BHARTIARTL)
This is the exec tasked with taking Bharti Airtel's success in India and repeating it across Africa. As the world's fifth-largest mobile operator since it acquired Zain Group 's mobile operations in Africa for $10.7 billion, 2011 will be a big year as Kohli embarks on Bharti's African ambitions. (See Bharti Secures $10.7B African Acquisition, Bharti Shows Off New Physique, Airtel Rebrands Across Africa, Bharti's African Adventure, and Top 10 Movers & Shakers.)

6. IIja Laurs, CEO and founder, GetJar Networks Inc.
The mobile app market is hot, and Laurs founded and still leads the largest independent app store that is second only to Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s App Store. His moves in 2011 will be exciting as he navigates his company through the intense market for mobile apps. (See AT&T Adds GetJar for App Attack and Pyramid: Mobile Apps on the Upswing.)

7. Paul Palmieri, CEO, Millennial Media
Palmieri's mobile advertising firm has reportedly caught the eye of Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; Toronto: RIM), which wants its own mobile ad network. So, Palmieri has dealmaker potential in 2011. (See RIM Wants Ads, Apple Doesn't, Apple: Ads Get the i Treatment, and Google Buys AdMob for $750M.)

8. Bhaskar Roy, co-founder and senior VP of product, Qik Inc.
Roy is one of the founders of mobile video chat specialist Qik and remains at the heart of the company's strategy and product development. So with competitors like ooVoo and fring emerging, how can Roy keep up the momentum for the company's mobile video app? We'll watch to find out! (See Top 10 Apps LTE Will Super-Charge, Leading Lights: Mobile Services/Apps Finalists, and Qik Touts Video Chat Explosion on Sprint's EVO.)

9. Rajeev Suri, CEO, Nokia Siemens Networks
In 2011, Suri's management skills will be tested as he contends with the integration of the Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) wireless infrastructure business as well as reportedly dealing with a new ownership structure with the addition of private equity investors. How he executes the Motorola acquisition will affect to what extent the company can boost its position in the North American market, which it so longs to do. (See Might NSN Choke on Its Moto Morsel?, NSN to Buy Moto's Wireless Biz for $1.2B , Rumor: NSN Stake Sale Near, NSN CEO: Don't Write Our Obituary, and NSN Revamps SPIT Unit.)

10. Juan Villalonga
Yes, that Villalonga: the former Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF) CEO who left the Spanish giant in the summer of 2000 amid allegations of insider trading and an investigation into his stock dealings by the Spanish securities and exchange commission. Now he's back and this time has a role as chairman of Switzerland-based mobile infrastructure software company Sunbay. What will he get into next?

— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile