Nearly four months after the departure of former head Lucy Hood, mobile entertainment firm Jamba has appointed Nokia (NYSE: NOK) veteran Mauro Montanaro as its new CEO. Forty-three year old Montanaro was most recently Nokia’s head of cell phone sales and channel development for the South East Asia Pacific which spans 16 countries. He was at the Finnish handset giant for a decade, where he also spent time at their Multimedia Business Group where he helped manage the sales and channel development for Nokia’s handsets and mobile content services. (release). 

The News Corp-Verisign mobile content JV, serves 35 different territories in the world and houses all of Fox Mobile Entertainment’s assets, but wants to expand even further. News Corp.’s president and COO Peter Chernin cited Montanaro’s “considerable experience” in developing mobile content and services as “a huge asset” in expanding Jamba’s reach and offerings. Chief operating officer Lee Fenton, who had stepped in to fill Hood’s vacancy while the board searched for a CEO, was seen as a strong contender for the role, and in an interview with PC:UK in November, Fenton said he would be “delighted” to take the job. Fenton will remain as COO.

• Interview: Lee Fenton, COO, Jamba: New Focus On Europe, Music, Simpsons
• Fox Mobile/Jamba CEO Lucy Hood Resigns; European Focus Going Forward