Andy Miller

Three 'Andy Miller' stories June 2012 - November 2012

Former Apple folks sing praises of Scott Forstall, say he ‘was the best approximation of Steve Jobs that Apple had left’

Jake Smith Nov 12 2012 - 7:15 am PT

There have been several reports that have noted ex-iOS chief Scott Forstall’s fiery relationship with several Apple executives like Jonathan Ive. Despite this, according to a former Apple senior engineer, Michael Lopp, firing Forstall was a mistake. Lopp posted his thoughts on his blog, and the theme of the post was that Apple will eventually be replaced by another company’s innovations (as most usually are). He wondered if the firing of Forstall is where the downslide will begin.

Lopp said Forstall “was the best approximation of Steve Jobs that Apple had left.” He added that several people chatting in Apple’s Caffe Macs cafeteria viewed Forstall as the only real successor to Jobs. Even though it appeared Forstall did not work well with several of his co-workers, being called an “asshole,” he was successful in what he did. Lopp said this is why he could have been the next Jobs.

With the executive shakeup, Apple said this would lead to more collaboration within the walls of Apple. Lopp said this is not necessarily a good thing:

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Former iAd exec Lars Albright on why his new company beats Apple’s ad platform

Jordan Kahn Jun 27 2012 - 6:44 am PT

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There were reports last year that Apple’s former Director of Publisher Partnerships at iAd—and co-founder of Quattro Wireless (which Apple acquired in 2009 for $275 million)—was leaving to start a new reward-based ad company called “SessionM.” Lars Albright is one of many iAd execs that recently left the company. Former Vice President of Mobile Advertising Andy Miller departed last year, while Senior Manager Mike Owe left just this month for a new role at AdColony. In case you were wondering about Albright’s motivation for leaving Apple to work with other ad companies, he talked to BusinessInsider today about why SessionM will have the upper hand on iAd:

But Albright demurs. “We’re incremental to iAd or Millennial Media. We’re not replacing banners.” Rather, he argues, SessionM’s reward ads reach a consumer when they’re already engaged in an app, and the action is taking a natural break (such as a reload between levels).

That, he says, solves the main problem with mobile display banners of the type served in the iAd environment: While the branded content that iAds trigger may be incredibly rich, they’re limited by the small, unappealing size of the initial iAd banner that users must click to generate them.

“The limitation is the entry-point,” Albright says of the medium he pioneered. “It’s not going to provide engagement, it’s not going to provide rewards.”

Another iAd executive leaves Apple

Jordan Kahn Jun 15 2012 - 10:02 am PT

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Last year, we noted Apple’s Vice President of Mobile Advertising Andy Miller left his role on Apple’s iAd team to become a partner at venture firm Highland Capital. Apple hired Todd Teresi from Adobe to replace Miller, but TechCrunch reported today that another iAd executive, former Senior Manager Mike Owen, will leave to take a job as the CRO of video ad network AdColony:

In his role at Apple, Owen had overseen the company’s New York office — arguably the most important, given many of the main players in the ad industry are so heavily concentrated there. His new job as CRO at AdColony is based in Los Angeles, where he will be responsible for overall company revenue

Owen provided a statement:

“AdColony is delivering rich, fast mobile video experiences to consumers in a mobile video ecosystem that is riddled with speed and quality issues… Video is incredibly powerful for consumers and brands and AdColony’s technology is allowing premium publishers to deliver the highest quality video experience to their consumers, which is translating into unprecedented results for advertisers. The post-PC era has just begun and we have a clear opportunity to change the way consumers think about, and experience advertising on their mobile devices.”