Startup Expert and Ex- Microsoft executive to drive location pioneer’s global growth and expansion
London: Movvo, a disruptive and innovative provider in the location technology market, has appointed Cyrus Gilbert-Rolfe as CEO. Movvo’s groundbreaking technology detects and locates mobile device signals, with accuracy levels surpassing all other providers, helping businesses to understand shoppers behaviour in physical spaces such as shopping malls, city centres and entertainment venues.
Gilbert-Rolfe, who has over 25 years of experience at organisations such as Netscape, Microsoft, Silverstream and EMC, will be charged with driving Movvo’s ambitious global expansion plans. His most recent role was as COO of Path Intelligence, where he helped create the market for using the movement of devices to understand shopper behaviour. Gilbert-Rolfe will build on that experience and momentum to ensure Movvo is well placed to take advantage of the expanding demand for real-time, mobile movement data across a host of industries.
The global market for anonymous device monitoring is exploding thanks to increasing demand from physical businesses looking to harness location insight from mobile devices to better understand their customer’s journeys. Movvo’s latest technology leads the market by being able to detect and locate 98% of mobile devices to an accuracy level of one metre – over ten times more precise than other competitive solutions. Proprietary algorithms analyse the data in real time with count and location data delivered via a web portal.
Sophisticated encryption guarantees no sensitive data is captured, just the location and movement of devices. This data is used to show patterns such, which parts of a shopping centre are busier or quieter, or which aisles inside stores are most popular. Movvo were the first location service vendor to be awarded the TRUSTe’s Privacy Seal, meaning all data remains anonymous and cannot be compromised.
Speaking about his appointment, Cyrus Gilbert-Rolfe said: “The team at Movvo are breaking ground when it comes to location data analysis, far outshining even the world’s biggest tech companies. It’s a tremendously exciting time to be part of the location-based data sector, which is increasingly becoming smarter and ever more integral to a host of industries. I’m very excited about helping the business expand rapidly over the coming months and years as we move towards the next level.”
Movvo founder Roberto Ugo, CTO, added: “We’ve come a long way since we started as three people back in 2009, developing our technology to address the business challenge, and breaking new ground in location detect rates and accuracy. Our funding round last year was a major milestone for us, but as we grow, the experience of someone like Cyrus is crucial. Cyrus truly understands our organisation, technology and position in the market, and by combining this with his unrivalled experience, means we are confident of expanding rapidly across different markets in the near future.”
The company has grown steadily since it was founded in 2009 by three researchers from Oporto University; Roberto Ugo, Suzy Vasconcelos and Diana Almeida. It currently employs 34 people and counts Sonae Sierra, SportZone, Telefónica, Spar, Renault and Bloomingdales amongst its customer base. It raised €1.6 million series A round in October last year, lead by Caixa Capital and Sonae E. Ventures.
