MOD Systems, Inc. announced new executive leadership, with veterans of the finance, entertainment, technology and retail industries joining its team.
According to the statement, joining MOD’s executives are Chief Financial Officer Robert DeLucia; Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Business Development Larry Smith; Senior Vice President of Content Licensing Dick Sowa; and Vice President of Operations David Sharp. These new hires come as MOD Systems, along with partners NCR Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, prepare for aggressive growth in the adoption and roll out of their Retail Digital Entertainment Platform this year.
“We are excited and fortunate to have such a widely respected and experienced team of executives joining the company,” said Chairman and CEO Anthony Bay. “This new executive talent is exactly what we need to push forward an aggressive strategy this year to build out our platform with retail, entertainment and device partners. Bob, Larry, Dick and David each bring the precise leadership skills needed to grow our business, the relationships and effectiveness to get things done, and deep experience across industries.”
Robert M. DeLucia, chief financial officer, spent nearly three years as chief accounting officer for Clearwire Corporation, where he led a domestic and international team of professionals and was responsible for accounting, accounts payable, financial reporting and the purchasing and receiving functions. He was recruited to bring about significant improvements needed at a critical time when Clearwire was newly public and growing rapidly. DeLucia also led the accounting and financial integration between Sprint and Clearwire with their merger in November 2008. Prior to Clearwire, DeLucia served as vice president and controller at Adelphia Communications Corporation, where he was brought in as replacement management in 2002 to turnaround and rebuild its accounting and reporting functions. DeLucia was also CFO of Public Interactive, an Internet Backbone provider; CFO at Zentropy Partners, a subsidiary of the Interpublic Group of Companies; and vice president of Finance at McCann Erickson Worldwide. DeLucia started his career at Arthur Andersen and KPMG.
Larry Smith, senior vice president of marketing, sales and business development, has more than 25 years experience in the entertainment, technology and retail industries in North America and Europe. Smith was the COO of North America and managing director of marketing and business development for ARCHOS, Inc., a leading manufacturer of portable consumer electronic media products, which is listed on the Paris stock exchange. He was senior vice president of sales, distribution and programming at On Command Corporation, a leading provider of media and connectivity solutions designed to meet the unique needs of hospitality and other guest-based businesses. Smith also served as vice president of programming, sales, distribution and operations at EchoStar Satellite Services/DISH Network; vice president affiliate relations at Request Television (the TCI/Twentieth Century Fox joint venture); and vice president of national accounts at CNBC, where he was one of the earliest employees.
Dick Sowa, senior vice president of content licensing, runs MOD Systems’ Los Angeles office and is responsible for managing the company’s relationships with the Hollywood studios and other content owners. He also directs the company’s content licensing activities. With more than 20 years in the entertainment industry, Sowa has impressive experience with both traditional and new technology content distribution. Previously, Sowa was executive director of entertainment industry partnerships for Sonic Solutions and also executive vice president of InterActual Technologies, the leading provider of web-enabling DVD software licensed to the Hollywood studios. Sowa also served as executive vice president at Digital Video Express, a joint venture of Circuit City Stores, Inc. and Zoom TV; and COO and president of distribution for the Playboy Entertainment Group, where he was responsible for the launch of Playboy’s pay television and home video businesses in the U.S. and 65 international markets.
David Sharp, vice president of operations, is responsible for all aspects of MOD Systems’ content delivery platform, and is a 19-year technology operations veteran who has provided leadership to global corporations, critical-stage SMBs, and non-profit institutions. Sharp has served as COO of Mercent Corporation, a leading provider of online channel marketing technology and services for retailers. Mercent helps the world’s most successful online merchants optimize online shopping channel marketing campaigns to drive customer acquisition, revenues, profits, and inventory velocity. Sharp was also vice president of IT solutions at Morse Best Innovation, IT project director at Washington Mutual, professional services director at Exodus Communications (now Savvis, Inc.), and a systems analyst and project manager for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).
For more information visit: www.modsystems.com