12/20/05 - The WiMAX Forum announced the appointments of Jeff Orr to director of marketing and Matt Wangler as director of operations.

“On behalf of the WiMAX Forum, the board and our 350+ member companies, we are pleased to have Jeff and Matt join our newly established management team as we move toward the next phase of growth,” said Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum. “We will rely on the talents and deep experience that Jeff and Matt bring to us, especially as we near our next milestone for beginning certification of fixed WiMAX products and as momentum builds from the recently ratified IEEE 802.16-2005 specification for mobile WiMAX.”

In his role as WiMAX Forum’s director of marketing, Orr will oversee global marketing strategy and day-to-day marketing operations. He will liaise with the WiMAX Forum’s Board of Directors and its Working Group chairpersons to align and ensure progress of the organization’s marketing initiatives. In addition, Orr will work hand-in-hand with these member teams to educate the market and motivate suppliers and operators to promote the worldwide adoption of WiMAX Forum CertifiedTM products.

In Wangler’s role as director of operations for the WiMAX Forum, he will oversee daily activities of program management of the WiMAX Forum working groups, event planning and information technology infrastructure to meet the needs of member companies.

Prior to joining the WiMAX Forum, Jeff Orr was director of worldwide product marketing with wireless broadband equipment supplier, Proxim Wireless. Over the years, he has been active with the WiMAX Forum where he was a member of the Board of Directors from 2003 to 2005, and most recently served as volunteer director of the WiMAX Forum’s Marketing Working Group, along with other task groups. Before his seven-year tenure with Proxim Wireless, Orr spent 10 years at Diamond Multimedia where he held multiple senior management positions and received more than 200 product-related awards. Orr has appeared on numerous television and radio talk shows, and he has been a featured speaker at many industry trade conferences and seminars. A Northern California Silicon Valley native, Orr majored in Aerospace and Aeronautical Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

“Through the years, Jeff Orr has been instrumental in promoting WiMAX technology and the work of the WIMAX Forum through his role on our board of directors and marketing working group,” Resnick continued. “Over his impressive career and leadership roles, Jeff has successfully marketed home-networking and wireless broadband products, and we expect that he will take his deep industry and Forum experience to elevate our marketing efforts worldwide.”

“Matt Wangler is a seasoned veteran who brings a wealth of management experience in technology markets, ranging from large corporations to start-up ventures,” Resnick continued. “Now, as the WiMAX Forum continues to grow and expand globally, Matt’s experience will be key as he manages our operations, works closely with our Board of Directors and oversees working groups and task forces.”

Matt Wangler joins the WiMAX Forum from the Ashwood Group, a consulting firm that he co-founded to assist startup and established ventures with launching new products and ventures, business development, interim executive management and project management. Prior to Ashwood Group, Wangler worked with Intel Corporation where he held management positions in engineering, manufacturing and program management.