Comment (7)Alex Puregger, Managing Director and COO, Fon
Alex Puregger, Managing Director and COO of Fon , makes the list because he's turned WiFi into a shareable, social experience, making it accessible through more than 12 million access points (APs) across the globe. (See Smartphone Revolution Helps FON Find Acceptance.)
"He looks like he's been successful at not only getting partnerships, but putting them into action as well -- making sure they come to something," Heavy Reading's Brown says.
The premise behind the Madrid-based company's business is encouraging its users, whom it calls "Foneros," to share their WiFi connections with others to grow the footprint. Fon's customer base gets access to these crowdsourced APs as well as those it secures through carrier partners such as Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), KPN Mobile , and BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA). (See DT Preps Wi-Fi Push With FON, KPN Teams With FON for Wi-Fi, and BT Rebrands Wi-Fi Services.)
It broke into the US market in September through a partnership with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and, under Puregger's leadership, plans to make global expansion, particularly in the US, a much bigger priority in 2014. (See: AT&T Strikes WiFi Deal With Fon.)
