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.
RNWK - F DATASOURCE: RealNetworks, Inc.
CONTACT: Press, Bill Hankes, +1-206-892-6614, , or Investors, Marj Charlier, +1-206-892-6718, , both of RealNetworks, Inc.
Web site: http://www.realnetworks.com/
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