• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, October 9, 2014

Mobile technology firm Urban Airship on Thursday named former Citrix Online President Brett Caine as its new chief executive.

He succeeds company co-founder Scott Kveton, who stepped down as CEO in July after The Oregonian newspaper reported a former girlfriend had accused him of sexual assault. Mike Temple, Urban Airship’s chief financial officer, who had served as interim CEO, will remain as CFO.

At Citrix Online, the online service division of Citrix Systems, which makes Web-based remote access and collaboration software products, including Go ToMeeting, Caine oversaw growth from $40 million to $600 million. “I believe Urban Airship has the same growth potential and an even bigger market opportunity!” Caine stated in a blog post today.

Urban Airship, which provides push notifications and other communication tools for mobile apps, doesn’t disclose financial information. But the company said it is on track to increase revenue by 65% this year, with the number of enterprise customers growing tenfold since 2011 to more than 500 today. It has 176 employees.

Caine -- who will split his time among Urban Airship's offices in Portland, London and San Francisco, where he lives -- said he plans to accelerate growth and expand the Portland, Oregon-based company’s business globally.

Urban Airship has recently moved to capitalize on the growing use of mobile apps and the rollout of newer technologies like in-store beacons to deliver content and offers to shoppers via their phones. To that end, the company last week announced a partnership with beacon technology provider Gimbal to deliver location-targeted marketing messages.

In August, Urban Airship also introduced new features and upgrades for notifications in iOS 8, the latest version of Android and Amazon Fire OS. These included various buttons, such as “shop now” and “opt in,” to help streamline the path to mobile engagement and transactions.

In his blog post, Caine also noted the emerging opportunity the so-called Internet of Things and wearable technology represents for further expanding the company’s services.

Prior to joining Citrix Online in 2004, Caine held executive positions at several software companies including Openwave Systems, Software.com and Clarify Inc. In addition to being named president and CEO, he will also join the Urban Airship board.

The company has raised $46.6 million in venture funding since its founding 2009, most recently securing a $25 million round in February 2013, according to Crunchbase

The Oregonian today reported that a Multnomah County Grand Jury last month declined to indict ex-CEO Kveton on charges related to his ex-girlfriend’s accusations. He still faces a civil suit brought by the woman.