The Wall Street Journal-20080215-Vodafone Hires Internet Chief- Microsoft-s Knook Picked to Lead Push On Mobile Devices

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Vodafone Hires Internet Chief; Microsoft's Knook Picked to Lead Push On Mobile Devices

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Mobile-phone operator Vodafone Group PLC named one of Microsoft Corp.'s top executives to head up its newly created Internet-services division.

Pieter Knook will join Vodafone, the world's largest mobile-phone operator by sales, in March as director of Internet services. Mr. Knook, 49 years old, was senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile- communications business.

He will spearhead Vodafone's push into mobile Internet services, a move designed to offset the company's declining voice revenue in Western Europe by selling new entertainment and advertising services over mobile devices.

Mr. Knook will be responsible for boosting revenue within Vodafone's "Mobile Plus" strategy, which is focused on earning the company by 2010 an additional 10% of group revenue, or about GBP 3 billion ($5.89 billion), from new services including broadband, mobile advertising and fixed-to-mobile convergence.

Vodafone's Internet-services unit will focus on providing customers with things like Internet Protocol communications and mobile Internet access, as well as striking new content partnerships.

"Pieter is joining us to help transform the customer experience through the mobile Internet, meet growing customer demand for Web services accessed from mobile devices and drive revenues within our Mobile Plus strategy," said Vodafone Global Chief Marketing Officer Frank Rovekamp, to whom Mr. Knook will report.

Mr. Knook has spent 17 years at Microsoft, the past five running Microsoft's mobile business, where he took the technology giant's Windows Mobile software to handset makers, including HTC Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Earlier this week, Mr. Knook told delegates at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, that Microsoft had agreed to buy Danger, the maker of T-Mobile's SideKick consumer Internet phone. It is a move that suggests Microsoft is expanding beyond its Windows Mobile technology to try to grab a share of the larger consumer phone market, which is also being eyed by rivals Apple Inc. and Google Inc.

Microsoft wasn't immediately available to comment on Mr. Knook's departure or news reports that Andrew Lees, currently a corporate vice president at Microsoft's server and tools unit, will succeed him.