Darren G. Austin

Current

Director of Product Management – Mobile Messaging at AOL

Past

Product Management at Motorola
Founding Partner at SeattleRentals.com
Director of Business Development at RealNetworks

Mobile Business Development at Amazon.com
Director of Business Development at Convergence Corporation
Product Manager at American Megatrends, Inc.

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Education

Georgia State University
Georgia Southern University

Recommended

5 people have recommended Darren G.

Connections

381 connections

Industry

Wireless

Websites

Darren G. Austin’s Summary

Darren G. Austin is a wireless internet industry pioneer and technology entrepreneur with more than 10 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 SeattleRentals.com an 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
• 10+ 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 including AOL, Amazon.com, RealNetworks, Motorola.

• Experience managing mobile internet-based products and services with revenue streams in excess of $43 million per year and ~80% OIBDA.

• 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), Palm.

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

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

Darren G. Austin’s Specialties:

Mobile Industry Veteran, Product Management, Product Marketing, International Business, Business Development in Computer Hardware, Software, Internet and Wireless Services industries. Strategic business planning and public speaking experience.

Darren G. Austin’s Experience

Director of Product Management – Mobile Messaging

AOL

(Public Company; TWX; Internet industry)

April 2005 — Present (4 years 8 months)

Lead a team of Senior Product and Project Managers responsible for AOL Mobile Communications & Community products (AOL Instant Messenger, AOL Mail and Social Networking).

• Establish product strategy to accelerate audience growth and maintain differentiation from competition.
• Achieved revenue growth of over 110% annually and maintained over 9 million unique users per month.
• Serve as AOL’s “iPhone Champion” responsible for coordinating product efforts supporting the iPhone.
• 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).
Product Management

Motorola

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; MOT; Telecommunications industry)

July 2004 — April 2005 (10 months)

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.
• Outlined product strategy and developed a product plan to meet the business unit objectives.
• Met directly with key customer accounts (China Mobile, Telefónica, O2, T-Mobile, H3G, Singtel, etc.) translating their needs into new product features and new services.
• Worked with cross-functional teams (local and remote) to assess customer needs and competitive analysis.
• Responsible for product revenue forecasts, product pricing, positioning, roadmap and market intelligence.
• Wrote and implemented product marketing specifications and feature definitions.
Founding Partner

SeattleRentals.com

(Internet industry)

January 2002 — April 2005 (3 years 4 months)

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), 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.
• URL: http://www.SeattleRentals.com
Director of Business Development

RealNetworks

(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; RNWK; Internet industry)

October 2000 — August 2001 (11 months)

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

• Penetrated major wireless carrier accounts (AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel, Verizon Wireless, etc.) and device manufacturer accounts (Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Casio, Sharp, Siemens, Mitsubishi, etc.) targeting approximately $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 networks.

• Worked with engineering team to access the product requirements and limitations for a variety of device platforms (Pocket PC, Linux, Java, Symbian, NOS, etc.).

• Assisted in the development of 2001 divisional business product plan and presentation to the RealNetworks executive team; implemented plans as recommended by senior management.
Mobile Business Development

Amazon.com

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; AMZN; Internet industry)

September 1999 — October 2000 (1 year 2 months)

One of nine founding members of the Amazon.com Anywhere team.

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

• Member of core team responsible for product planning, design and development of new Amazon.com Anywhere wireless e-commerce applications for WAP

• Identified and negotiated key wireless business partnerships with Airtouch (now Verizon), Nextel Communications, OracleMobile and AvantGo resulting in over $1.1 million in revenues for FY2000.

• Conducted detailed contract review. Structured and negotiated domestic strategic alliances.
Director of Business Development

Convergence Corporation

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Computer Software industry)

April 1999 — September 1999 (6 months)

Company Sold to Amazon.com in September 1999.

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

• Assisted management team with execution of Amazon.com acquisition (due diligence, shareholder communications, documents preparation, etc.).

• Worked with VP of Marketing and VP of Technology to develop product requirements, marketing strategy and sales strategy for DeviceTalk line of Bluetooth software.
Product Manager

American Megatrends, Inc.

(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Computer Hardware industry)

November 1997 — April 1999 (1 year 6 months)

Darren G. Austin’s Education

Georgia State University

MBA , Economics , 1997 — 1998

Activities and Societies:

• Twenty-two quarter hours of credit towards an MBA degree with dual concentration in Finance and Economics.
• Degree not complete. Studies were interrupted by Amazon.com acquisition of Convergence and my subsequent relocation to Seattle
Georgia Southern University

BS , Mechanical Engineering Technology , 1991 — 1995

Activities and Societies:

-- Member of Golden Key and Gamma Beta Phi honor societies.