Telecom Lead Europe: Zenterio, a developer of an operating system for interactive TV sets and set-top boxes (STBs), has hired former Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and former Sony Ericsson CTO Mats Lindoff.
While former Nokia CEO will take over as Zenterio board chairman, former Sony Ericsson CTO will serve as chief technical officer.
“Zenterio’s software platform is very impressive. It enables fast, easy service rollouts to viewers – a big benefit for TV operators,” said Kallasvuo.
Going forward, Zenterio’s software has potential to become an equally important operating system on the TV side that, for example, Windows is for PCs.
Zenterio was launched in 2002, and its development center is in Linköping, Sweden. Its customer list currently consists of TV operators, global systems integrators, large TV and STB manufacturers, and one of the largest chip manufacturers.
Several independent research institutes estimate that, within a few years, the market for interactive TV, in terms of number of units, will be about half as large as the market for PCs.
Zenterio’s goal is to become a leading company in an industry that now has at least 650 million customers. Market growth increased substantially in connection with the switch from analog to digital TV – as households connected to internet, which enables more opportunities for various pay-TV solutions. This trend led to enormous interest in Zenterio’s independent operating system.
“Kallasvuo and Lindoff have extensive experience and expertise from the Nordic region’s most successful IT enterprises,” says Per Skyttvall, CEO of Zenterio. “Their skill sets are perfect for Zenterio as it enters a new commercial phase.”
To ensure that Zenterio’s technologies meet rigorous demands on a global operating system, Lindoff is assuming the CTO role. He has extensive international experience and has held various roles in Ericsson and Sony Ericsson (CTO). Lindoff was also a Symbian board member.
