Trolltech adds seasoned mobile execs

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Oct. 18, 2005

Trolltech has enticed a pair of top mobile phone industry executives to join its management team. Benoit Schillings, former CTO of mobile phone software stack vendor Openwave, joins Trolltech as CTO. And, Dr. Karsten Homann, former VP of mobile devices at Siemens, joins as VP of professional services.

Trolltech sells Linux mobile phone software stacks that have seen increasing adoption, as well as cross-platform development tools. The company last month added two new board members, and is rumored to be building up its management team in preparation for an IPO.

Trolltech, for its part, says it is expanding rapidly to meet "increasing demand for advanced cross-platform application development software on the desktop and in embedded Linux environments."

Benoit Schillings

Schillings is well-known as co-creator of BeOS, a multimedia-oriented alternative operating system that failed to attract adequate funding during the millennial market downturn, despite attracting a small but highly devoted following. Schillings "designed, developed, and implemented" Be, Trolltech says.

More recently, Schillings served as CTO of mobile phone software giant Openwave, which claimed in 2003 that its V7 suite of browser and messaging applications and other technology was used in about half of all data phones then shipping. Openwave has been a vocal proponent of Linux on mobile phones, and it partnered with MontaVista in 2004 on Linux ports of V7 and other products.

Trolltech says that in 2003, Schillings was named Distinguished Engineer for his influential work in the conception of "top to bottom" integrated software for mass-market phones, a market concept later adopted by Microsoft and MontaVista, in addition to Trolltech.

Schillings will be responsible for existing technologies and services, in addition to bringing new technologies to market more quickly, Trolltech says. He commented, "My focus will be on maximizing the synergies between its two complementary product lines in the context of the company's overall technology strategy."

Dr. Karsten Homann

Trolltech describes Dr. Homann as a former VP of mobile devices at Siemens, and a "long-time Siemens executive" who has held responsibility for a Linux based product portfolio. Siemens is currently the world's sixth-largest mobile phone vendor, according to Gartner, but the company's mobile division has struggled, and actually shipped fewer phones year-over-year in Q2, 2005, the research firm says.

In his newly created role as VP of professional services, Dr. Homann will design an organization offering training, engineering integration, and consultancy services, in close cooperation with Trolltech's existing partners, the company says.

Trolltech president Eirik Chambe-Eng said, "Benoit has a background that reflects a deep understanding of technology for both the desktop and mobile products -- Trolltech's core markets. Karsten brings a strong track record in successfully growing professional services groups to meet the expanding needs of fast-moving software companies."

In other news, Trolltech announced today its participation in the OSDL's Mobile Linux Initiative, as well as the Free Standards Group's Linux Standard Base Desktop Project.

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