Mobile Marketing Association Names New Head

Mike Wehrs will take over leadership of the MMA from outgoing CEO Marriott.

The Mobile Marketing Association has named wireless executive Michael Wehrs to replace outgoing president and CEO Laura Marriott.

Wehrs will move into the post from his current position as vice president of industry affairs and evangelism at Nuance Communications, a speech-recognition platform provider. He has also worked as vice president of product management for Tegic Communications, a predictive text company acquired by Nuance from AOL in 2007, and in the mobile division at Microsoft.

“The mobile channel has been experiencing tremendous growth, and marketers worldwide are embracing mobile marketing as an essential component of their global advertising strategies, capitalizing on its capability to establish a direct link with consumers,” Wehrs said in a statement.

Wehrs brings a range of industry association experience to his new post, having served on boards and executive committees for organizations such as CTIA—the Wireless Association, the Open Mobile alliance, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and the dotMobi Advisory Group.

“The MMA is thriving, representing the entire mobile ecosystem, experiencing a more than 15-fold membership increase and firmly establishing itself as the leading association for the mobile marketing industry worldwide,” said Tom Daly, group manager for The Coca-Cola Co. and MMA North American chairman. “Mike’s record of achievements is impressive.”

On Friday, former MMA CEO and president Laura Marriott was named to the board of directors of NeoMedia Technologies, a provider of 2D barcode scanning solutions using mobile handsets.