Comings & Goings: magicJack Names Anthony Russo its New VP of Mobile

magicJack is one of those companies that plenty of people have heard of, but most consumers might not be able to tell their friends exactly what the firm does. It appears the company is trying to make some moves to get it into more of the mainstream with the announcement of a new vice president of its mobile division in Anthony Russo. One of the leading cloud-based communications companies around is moving Vonage’s (News - Alert) former head of that firm’s head of app development to the position.

The move is a big one in the company’s attempt to be an even bigger player in the mobile community. Recently, magicJack announced it was trying an “over the top” mobile communications solution.

“The magicJack voice app is an important part of our growth strategy as we continue to enhance our unique at-home and on-the-go voice service," said Timothy McDonald, COO, magicJack in a recent statement. "The addition of Anthony to the management team helps us to ensure magicJack's ongoing growth as the preferred over-the-top mobile voice provider. His unique combination of mobile and VoIP expertise will help take the magicJack mobile offering to the next level."

Before Russo worked with Vonage, he made a name for himself working in the cellular industry, first at AT&T Mobility and then Cingular (News - Alert) Wireless. During his time at AT&T, he was instrumental in helping to launch the first ever U.S. carrier-branded Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application called the AT&T (News - Alert) Call International.

magicJack is one of those firms that hope it can largely mirror the resurgence that Vonage has seen over the last few years. There was a time when the company looked like it might be headed to the great VoIP graveyard but it has managed to make itself very successful since the 21st century kicked off.