ROK Mobile Ups Gabriel Rene To CEO, John Janes Named COO

ROK Mobile

ROK MOBILE has promoted former COO GABRIEL RENE to CEO, then tapped mobile technology veteran JOHN JANES as its new COO.

Prior to joining ROK MOBILE in 2013, RENE had a diverse background in innovation that spans music, technology, and marketing. Rene served as CEO of MAGNET SOLUTIONS, an early direct-to-consumer social commerce company that enabled the sale and distribution of music, video and related products. His work also includes 20 years in technology and immersive media, as well as an early career in music production, engineering, and sound design and has developed products for global brands including BOOST MOBILE, MICROSOFT and COCA COLA.

JANES, an executive with similarly broad experience in the mobile and telecommunications industry, previously served as COO for mobile payments startup WIPIT and also held prominent management and product development roles at companies including SPRINT, BOOST MOBILE and GREEN DOT CORPORATION.

Commented ROK MOBILE Chairman JONATHAN KENDRICK: “The marketplace keeps saying that people want music to be free; by offering music as part of our mobile service for one price ROK MOBILE gives them an experience that feels free but still compensates artists, writers and labels. So simple - and completely blows up the approach of APPLE or SPOTIFY.

"GABRIEL RENE has been an integral part of the ROK MOBILE team since the very beginning and he genuinely understands how to deliver on this promise to our customers; he has been central to making both the content and telco deals a reality. JOHN JANES is someone who has demonstrated extraordinary vision and success throughout his career and we know that his organizational and telecom skills will greatly benefit the work we’re doing as we bring ROK MOBILE customers across the U.S. and in the U.K.”

Added RENE: “I’m incredibly excited to take on this new role and continue working with our great team to find new ways for mobile users to enjoy unlimited talk, text, data, music, and now video. With so many great ideas and updates that we want to bring to fruition, it’s an amazing time to take this step.”

Said JANES: “As someone who has long worked within the mobile and telecommunications sphere, I’ve been extremely interested in the work that ROK MOBILE has been doing and it’s an honor to officially join their team. ROK’s unique combination of mobile provider and music service has proven to be highly innovative and I’m eager to contribute to the other great developments that are coming down the road.”

The two promotions come on the heels of the announcement of ROK MOBILE’s forthcoming all-you-can-eat service, which will launch in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2016. The video service will be an added value to ROK MOBILE plans, which include unlimited talk, text, data and streaming music.

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