• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, January 13, 2010

International ad network InMobi has brought on a Google and Yahoo veteran to expand its operations in Europe. Rob Jonas joins the company as managing director for Europe from Google, where he was director of strategic partnerships for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In his new post, Jonas will be responsible for building InMobi's business on the continent, where it already serves mobile ads in 21 countries after establishing large footprints in Asia and Africa over the last three years. It now boasts operations in 37 countries and serves more than 7.5 billion impressions globally a month, including 850 million in Europe.

"The general feeling is that mobile is at a tipping point in Europe, which makes it a very interesting time after so many years of promise," said Jonas, explaining his jump to InMobi from Google, where he oversaw the syndication of Google publishing and ad products to other Internet companies in the EMEA market.

Before joining Google, Jonas had done stints at Yahoo and Overture (before its acquisition by Yahoo in 2003) and was one of the founding members of idealab Europe. Although he did not have an extensive background in the mobile sector, Jonas believes his long experience in the region and in digital advertising will serve him well in the new job.

From a base in London, Jonas' initial steps will include assembling a sales force, starting in the U.K. and expanding from there. "We need to very quickly understand where we need to put people on the ground in other parts of Europe," he said. "Being able to execute locally with key advertisers and publishers is by far the top priority."

Most of InMobi's business to date has been in emerging markets where many "mobile-first" or "mobile only" users have not been exposed to the Web on any platform other than mobile. At the other extreme is the U.S. market, which the company has not yet entered, but where smartphones are now used by 17% of subscribers, according to Forrester.

Jonas sees Europe as a cross between nascent markets in Asia and Africa and more advanced mobile users in the U.S. "The U.K. is characteristically more like the U.S., while countries in Eastern Europe are more like the emerging markets in Asia," he said. In Europe, InMobi will also have to contend with other mobile ad networks making inroads there such as AdMob, acquired by Jonas' former employer, Google, last year for $750 million.

Ultimately, InMobi has set its sights on getting into all markets worldwide including the U.S. In addition to the U.K., other European countries where the company currently offers mobile advertising include Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. InMobi has raised $7.6 million to date from venture investors including Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures.