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Former Apple iAd VP Andy Miller to be President and COO of Leap Motion
Former head of Apple's iAd program Andy Miller recently left the company to join a firm called Highland Capital, but now he's taking another leap into the COO role of a company called Leap Motion. Leap Motion is currently working on a new device designed to make motion controlled gestures easy across multiple platforms, and Miller will be helping them try to release that product commercially. The move over to Leap Motion isn't too much of a "leap," actually (sorry about that one) -- Highland Capital has backed Leap Motion previously, and in his position there, Miller reportedly worked closely with his new employer. All of this just shows that iAd's legacy is carrying farther and farther. Given how the actual business at iAd is going lately, the service's biggest consequence may just be that it found its former executives some excellent followup jobs.
Leap Motion taps former Apple iAd VP Andy Miller to be President and COO
Apple's former iAd VP (and Quattro co-founder) Andy Miller only just took a job as a general partner at Highland Capital last year after leaving the gang in Cupertino, but he's now already moving on to another fairly high profile gig. Leap Motion has announced today that Miller will become its new President and CEO COO, placing him in a central role at a company that's facing the rather difficult task of actually delivering the goods after wowing most everyone with its new gesture control technology. As Fortune notes, however, the move doesn't come as a complete surprise. Highland Capital is backing Leap, and Miller himself has reportedly been spending about 80 percent of his time on the company over the past few months. In a statement, Miller said that he's "been fortunate to work with some of the most influential figures and companies in the technology industry, and I'm as excited about the Leap as I've ever been about a technology," adding that the "potential for the Leap is limitless, as it is going to fundamentally change the way we interact with so many devices in our lives." Update: Leap Motion has reached out and informed us that Miller will be President and COO, reporting to current CEO and co-founder Michael Buckwald. The official press release can be found after the break.
Former iAd executive Mike Owen moves to AdColony
Mike Owen, who worked at Apple on iAd, has left the company to join the mobile video ad network AdColony. Owen was a senior manager in the New York office for iAd, but is now one of three recent high-profile hires at AdColony. He's also one of a few big exits from Apple's iAd program, the others being former VP Andy Miller, and Larry Albright, both former Quattro executives who joined Apple when that company was acquired. Apple's iAd service has been having some trouble. The company is trying to provide premium ads to developers for their iOS apps, but high prices and low clickthroughs have made the business slow. That doesn't mean iAd is done, however. The company has also made a few big hires recently, and with Apple's cash reserves, iAd's got plenty of room to breathe as it finds both its audience and more clients.
Apple's mobile ad head Andy Miller leaves for Highland Capital
Andy Miller, Mobile Advertising VP and Former Quattro Wireless CEO, is reportedly leaving Apple to join Highland Capital. Highland Capital is a Boston venture capital firm that previously funded ad company Quattro Wireless. Quattro was scooped up by Apple in an early 2010 acquisition. The ad platform was eventually shuttered when Apple decided to focus its efforts on iAd. The departure reflects poorly on iAd which has been slumping. After a launch filled with enthusiasm, the mobile advertising platform has not lived up to performance expectations. To improve adoption, Apple has sliced the price on its iAd campaign by as much as 70%. Apple was initially charging clients US$1 million but those prices may have dropped to as little as $300,000. Even at that reduced price, Apple still has to compete with less expensive alternatives like AdMob and Millennial Media.
