It’s Not Easy Developing for Mobile? An Expert Panel Discussion at MWC

Pieter Knook (Vodafone), Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner (Opera) and Peter-Paul Koch (mobile platform strategist) line up at the Vodafone 360 Developer Conference, App Planet, MWC to discuss with you, the challenges of developing for mobile.

Panel experts:-

Pieter Knook

Pieter Knook, a former senior vice president of Microsoft, was appointed to the newly formed role of Director of Internet Services in  March 2008, Vodafone Internet Services  leads the development and delivery of Vodafone’s current and future consumer propositions for the internet, and focuses on the provision and delivery of distinctive consumer web services such as IP communications, mobile internet access and selected content categories, across Vodafone’s footprint.

Pieter Knook is responsible for delivering new revenue growth around internet, content and advertising with a focus on differentiating Vodafone’s services by creating rich and distinctive experiences for customers.

Knook, 49, joined Vodafone on 10 March 2008, following 17 years with Microsoft where, as one of the most senior executives in the company, he spent the last 5 years as Senior Vice President running Microsoft’s Mobile business, including strategy, product development, marketing and sales. During his time with Microsoft, Pieter led a wide range of programmes across seven businesses. He reports to Frank Rovekamp, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone Group.

Jon S. von Tetzchner – Opera Co-founder

Jon S. von Tetzchner, along with colleague Geir Ivarsøy, started developing a Web browser while working for Norwegian Telecom Research

(Telenor) in 1994. Soon after, the Opera browser was available for the public and is now widely used, pioneering many innovations that have revolutionized Web browsing.

Tetzchner has been a member of the Forum for Young Global Leaders since 2005 and was named as one of BusinessWeek’s Stars of Europe in 2004. In 2009, Tetzchner was named as one of the top 40 leaders shaping the mobile communications industry by analyst firm Informa and as one of the top 15 mobile influencers by GigaOM. Tetzchner is a self-confessed geek with a big interest in gadgets and high-tech devices. His interest in computers started in his early days, especially in user interfaces and accessibility. While travelling, he may prefer a visit to local electronics stores rather than a popular tourist spot. He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Oslo.

As co-founder of Opera Software, Tetzchner spreads the company’s vision of One Web, which means giving people universal access to the Web the way they like it. Opera, the oldest browser company still in business, believes the Web is too important to be available to the privileged few.

Peter-Paul Koch

Peter-Paul Koch is a mobile platform strategist, consultant, and trainer in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He concentrates on Web technologies, mobile websites, and W3C Widgets.

He specialises in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and browser compatibility. He has won international renown with his browser compatibility research, frequently speaks at conferences, has founded Fronteers, the Dutch association of front-end professionals, and advises browser vendors on their implementation of Web standards.

In 2009 he shifted from traditional desktop browsers and sites to the mobile Web, and he never looked back. He discovered that mobile devices and browsers are in even more need of description than their desktop counterparts, and set himself to the task.

On the Web he is universally known as ppk.

Sam Dean

Sam Dean graduated from Durham University with a Masters in Engineering and started out as an embedded C developer for PURE digital where he developed the UI for a number of award winning DAB digital radios. He then moved to lastminute.com, spending 2 years leading the development of an ecommerce hotels site.

His current role is within the lastminute.com labs team, working on new customer experiences for the consumer travel and entertainment market.

He has developed desktop applications in HTML, Flash and Flex and mobile applications for Android, iPhone and mobile web. He is looking forward to mobile Flash and HTML5 to make the mobile web come to fruition.

You can find him on twitter as @deanWombourne

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