SEATTLE, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital entertainment
services company RealNetworks(R), Inc., (Nasdaq: RNWK) today announced the
promotion of three executives and the formation of a new operating
structure. These changes are designed to strengthen and bring together
Real's existing portfolio of digital entertainment services, foster
innovation to fuel the next stage of growth for the company, and set the
stage for Real's announced intention to spin-out its games business.
Effective immediately, John Giamatteo has been promoted to chief
operating officer, RealNetworks, and Harold Zeitz has been promoted to
chief operating officer of the games division. Additionally, Mike Lunsford
has been appointed executive vice president, strategic ventures.
"The promotion of these three executives sets up RealNetworks' next
chapter," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "John, Mike,
and Harold are outstanding executives who each have a proven ability to
deliver great results. I am very proud to work with them and congratulate
each of them on their well-deserved promotions."
Mr. Giamatteo has served in a number of increasingly responsible
executive roles at Real since 2005, most recently as president, technology
products & services and international operations. Previously, Mr. Giamatteo
was president and CEO of Nortel Networks Asia Pacific. In his new role as
COO, Mr. Giamatteo will have operational responsibility for the company's
wholly owned businesses, which include its technology products and
solutions, and media software and services divisions, as well as
international operations. Mr. Giamatteo also will be responsible for the
company's advertising sales, platform technology, and network operations
teams.
Mr. Lunsford joined Real in January 2008 as a strategic advisor. In his
new role at Real, Mr. Lunsford will be responsible for corporate strategy
as well as Real's interests in key partnerships and joint ventures. This
includes Real's music business which in the U.S. is managed via a joint
venture with MTV Networks called Rhapsody America. Prior to his work at
Real, Mr. Lunsford served in a number of executive roles at Earthlink,
Incorporated from 1999 to 2007, including interim CEO, president, and
various other executive officer roles responsible for access and voice,
broadband and brand marketing.
Mr. Zeitz joined Real in 2006, and as senior vice president of media
software & services. For the past year and a half, he has been the
executive with P&L responsibility for both the media software & services
and games divisions. In his new role, Mr. Zeitz will continue to run the
games division and lead the transition of the games division into the
anticipated stand-alone public entity. Previously, Mr. Zeitz was COO for
ShareBuilder Corporation, and president and COO for WorldStream
Communications. Before that, over a ten year period, he held several
executive positions with AT&T Wireless where he led a number of consumer
marketing initiatives, including the introduction of the first wireless
"one rate" plan.
ABOUT REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers
via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system and mobile phone.
Real created the streaming media category in 1995 and has continued to lead
the market with pioneering products and services, including: RealPlayer(R),
the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and
recording of Internet video; the award-winning Rhapsody(R) digital music
service, which delivers more than 1 billion songs per year; RealArcade(R),
one of the largest casual games destinations on the Web; and a variety of
mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers
through leading wireless carriers around the world. RealNetworks' corporate
information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/company.
RealNetworks, RealPlayer, Rhapsody and RealArcade are trademarks or
registered trademarks of RealNetworks or its subsidiaries.
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