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Professional Bio

Darren G. Austin is a wireless internet industry pioneer and technology entrepreneur with more than 12 years leading products for major technology brands including AOL, Amazon.com and Motorola.  In 1999 he was a part of the successful exit of a venture-backed wireless business when the start-up he was with was acquired by Amazon.com. He subsequently went on to help start mobile initiatives at Amazon.com and RealNetworks before co-founding a successful online real estate business serving the Pacific Northwest.  Darren is currently serving as the Director of Product Management for AOL's Mobile Messaging & Social Networks team and is active as an adviser in the Seattle-area start-up community..

Highlights

•12+ years in product management, marketing and business development focused on mobile Internet products.

•Participant in successful exit of wireless start-up business in 1999.  Sold 8-person business to Amazon.com for $23 million and established Amazon.com’s mobile e-commerce initiative (Amazon.com Anywhere).

•Director-level experience marketing and partnering in leading-edge, wireless technologies for global internet and technology brands (AOL, Amazon.com, Motorola, and RealNetworks).

•Experience managing mobile internet-based products and services with revenue streams in excess of $55 million per year and 80% EBIDA.

•Successful track record entering new markets and plotting “customer-focused” product strategies.

•Member of AOL’s core mobile team responsible for strategy and negotiations with key industry partners: Apple (iPhone & iChat), Google (Android), Nokia (N-series devices) and Palm (Pre).

•Considerable international business experience in Europe and Asia focused on mobile industry partnerships.

•Active in the Seattle-area start-up community as an advisor for a number of early-stage internet ventures.

•BS in Mechanical Engineering, partial completion of MBA with emphasis on Finance and Economics; graduate studies were interrupted by start-up acquisition and subsequent relocation to Seattle.

Professional Experience

America Online, Seattle, Washington                                                                                2005 – Present

Director of Product Management – Mobile Messaging and Social Networking, AOL Wireless

Lead a team of Senior and Director-level Product Managers and Designers responsible for Mobile Communications & Community products.  Products include AIMTM, AOL Mail, social networking, and AOL original content. 

•Achieved revenue growth of over 110% annually and maintained over 9 million unique users per month.

•Served as AOL’s “iPhone Champion” responsible for coordinating AOL’s iPhone product efforts. 

•AOL’s iPhone applications attract over 5 million active monthly unique users and accounted for over 1.4% of all iTunes application downloads in the first year of the App Store.

•Organized market and consumer research targeting consumer needs, market trends and product positioning.

•Work directly with carrier product and marketing teams at AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, etc.

•Participated as a member of AOL’s Advance Research Product Team to formulate next-generation of AOL’s instant messaging, communication, location-based services (LBS) and social networking products.

•Manage and support AOL’s Mobile AIM developer programs (e.g. OMA IMPS, Open AIM for Mobile).

Motorola, Seattle, Washington                                                                                                 2004 – 2005

Sync ML Product Management Lead, 4thpass Division

Responsible for setting the strategic direction and developing the go-to-market plan for the 4thpass (SyncML) Device Management System server product.

•Served as the primary business leader and evangelist for the 4thpass SyncML DM server product.

•Worked directly with key customer accounts (China Mobile, Telefónica, O2, T-Mobile, H3G, SingTel, etc.) translating their needs into new product features and new services.

•Responsible for product revenue forecasts, product pricing, positioning, roadmap and market intelligence.

SeattleRentals.com, Seattle, Washington                                                                                 2001 – 2005

Co-Founder / Vice President of Products and Business Strategy

As a founder and co-owner of the business, I developed the original product concept, business plan and marketing plan.  SeattleRentals.com continues to be a going concern in the Pacific Northwest real estate marketplace.

•Directed and managed marketing activities including direct mail, print, radio and television advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), display and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

•Responsible for setting revenue and performance targets, budget creation and vendor contract negotiation.

•Identified new markets and led market research efforts to define the unique demographics of customer base, the needs and requirements of target customers, and the individual market trends.

•Success marked by early profitability, a customer base of 600,000+ unique users per year and 170% annual revenue growth.

RealNetworks, Inc., Seattle, Washington                                                                                 2000 – 2001

Director of Mobile Business Development

Co-developed and executed RealNetworks’ partnering and business development strategy for wireless carriers and mobile device manufacturers (OEMs).

•Penetrated major wireless carrier (AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel, Verizon) and device manufacturer accounts (Compaq, HP, Sharp, Siemens, Mitsubishi) targeting $3 million in software licensing revenue.

•Organized and attended executive-level meetings with major U.S. wireless carriers resulting in cooperative testing of streaming media services for GPRS (2.5G) networks.

Amazon.com, Inc., Seattle, Washington                                                                                 1999 – 2000

Mobile Business Development – Amazon.com Anywhere

One of nine founding members of the Amazon.com Anywhere team.  Role involved both business development and product management responsibilities.

•Member of core team responsible for product planning, design and development of new Amazon.com wireless e-commerce application (product features list, competitive analysis, marketing strategy, etc.).

•Pioneered Amazon.com’s wireless e-commerce efforts on all non-PC platforms (WAP, PDA, ITV and IVR).

•Lead negotiations and established key partnerships with Airtouch, Nextel, OracleMobile and AvantGo.

Director of Sales & Product Management – Convergence Corp, (acquired by Amazon.com, 9/99), Norcross, Georgia

Assisted with execution of business acquisition by Amazon.com.  Business sale to Amazon.com resulted in the establishment of Amazon.com’s mobile initiative (Amazon.com Anywhere).

•Reporting directly to the CEO, represented DeviceTalkTM line of wireless data and Bluetooth software to leading technology providers.

•Worked with VP of Marketing and VP of Technology to develop product requirements, marketing/branding strategy and sales strategy for DeviceTalkTM line of Bluetooth software.

American Megatrends, Inc., Norcross, Georgia                                                                     1997 – 1999

Product Manager

Managed the complete product lifecycle of AMI’s MegaRACTM line of remote access server peripherals.

•Successfully managed the launch of two new server management products (software and hardware) generating $11 million in annual revenues.

•Coordinated efforts of a 13-member team including resources from engineering, marketing, sales, PR, customer service and manufacturing disciplines.

Education

Master of Business Administration, Finance and Economics

Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia (degree not complete)

•Studies were interrupted by Amazon.com acquisition of Convergence and my relocation to Seattle.

Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering Technology

Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia

Press Coverage & Speaking Engagements

PreThinking.com, June 5th, 2009

Invited by editor to author a guest post in advance of the public release of the Palm Pre. Article was reviewed and approved by Palm’s PR team.  Palm also assisted in publicizing the article through their official PR channels.

IEEE 2009 CQR, May 12th, 2009, Naples, FL

“Email in a Mobile World” panelist at the International Communications Quality and Reliability (CQR) Workshop.  Panel discussion and Q&A session covering issues affecting quality and reliability in mobile email services.

AOL iPhone Blog (http://iblog.aol.com), 2009

Key contributor / writer for AOL’s official iPhone blog.  This is a conduit for direct communication to the users of AOL’s 8+ iPhone applications and 20+ iPhone optimized web sites.

The Apple Blog, April 10th, 2009 

Review of iPhone Applications (Amplitude and iHearClear) released by MagTown Tech (my company) and Gripwire.  Article was picked up by over five other influential media outlets including: CNN / Money, BusinessWeek, and Salon.com.

University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business, 2008, Seattle

Guest speaker at IS 461- Facebook / OpenSocial – Building Interactive Applications undergraduate business class.  Presentation on entrepreneurism and Web 2.0 business considerations.

CTIA Wireless® 2007, Orlando

“Ask the Expert” panelist at the Mobile Entertainment Live® conference.  Public Q&A session covering trends in mobile social networking.

CTIA Wireless® 2005, New Orleans

Judge representing Motorola in the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge® -- the premier industry event for the development and emergence of cutting-edge location-aware wireless applications.

Washington Software Alliance™ (WSA), 2005, Seattle

4thpass Device Management System nominated for “Most Promising New Technology” for 2005

Puget Sound Business Journal, February 9th, 2004 

Multi-page article covering the founding and emergence of SeattleRentals.com as a major player in local real estate market.

Spring Comdex® 2001, McCormick Place, Chicago

Represented RealNetworks’ wireless strategy and partnership goals at panel discussion.

Tenzing Corporate Customer Summit, 2000, Slough, United Kingdom

Amazon.com delegate representing the content partnership for Tenzing’s in-flight internet service offering.

Atlanta Journal & Constitution, October 27, 1999

Half-page article covering the $23MM sale of Convergence Corporation to Amazon.com and the founding of the Amazon Anywhere initiative.

Industry Associations / Activities

Owner / Founder, MagTown Tech

Technology firm I founded in Jan 2009 to pioneer a new category of mobile user experiences.  MagTown Tech’s marquee product is the Playfield™ advanced mobile networking platform.

Member Advisory Board, Gripwire

Member since 2007.  Gripwire is a Seattle-based provider of applications and analytic solutions for all major social networks and mobile platforms.

Member of Board of Advisors, Halcyon Ventures / Spottago.com

Member since 2008.  Spottago.com is a Web 2.0 social network and information site focused on the college market.

Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)

Committee Member of MMA Off-Portal Content Special Interest Group, 2007

Committee Member of MMA Mobile Web Sub-Committee, 2008

Society of Industry Leaders

Member since 2008

Washington Software Alliance (WSA)

Steering Committee Member of WSA Wireless Special Interest Group, 2002 & 2003

Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA)

Judge for the Washington State Career Development Conference, 2002 & 2003

International Business Developers Network

Member, 2002-2003

Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

Technology Start-up Member, 1999