Laura Marriott, president of the Mobile Marketing Association, has resigned after three years heading the world's leading trade lobby for mobile advertising and marketing.

Under Ms. Marriott's watch, the MMA went from approximately 40 members to 632, including the world's leading consumer packaged goods companies, media firms, service providers, mobile ad networks and ad agencies. A search for her successor is already underway.

"I felt it was time," Ms. Marriott said from the MMA's Denver, CO, headquarters. "One of my key goals when I started in 2005 was to have a truly global organization. With the launch of the Latin America chapter in March, we now have that global presence.

"I'm ready for my next entrepreneurial opportunity," she said. "Plans are undetermined at this time, but I'm certainly evaluating some entrepreneurial or startup opportunities."

A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Ms. Marriott previously was director of marketing at Intrado, a provider of wireless 911 services and mobility products. She has spent more than a decade in the wireless industry.

Cursus honorum
Jim Manis, president/CEO of 1024 Wireless Services, and Louis Gump, vice president of mobile at The Weather Channel Interactive, were among the key executives who championed Ms. Marriott's case for president before the MMA board in 2005. She got the job in July 2005.

Ms. Marriott is known for her peripatetic schedule, travelling the world's major capitals to open regional chapters, evangelize the cause of mobile marketing and emphasize best practice.

The MMA now has regional chapters for Asia-Pacific, Europe Middle East and Africa and Latin America to complement the North America outpost.

"I think that we've built a strong global community for mobile marketing," Ms. Marriott said. "You can go anywhere and feel connected to this community of likeminded individuals who share the same passion."

Ms. Marriott and her team at the MMA created more than 20 new committees for education, mobile advertising, measurement, privacy and participation TV.

One of the key achievements of Ms. Marriott's tenure was the creation of global mobile advertising guidelines for best practice on how to deploy mobile advertising campaigns while respecting consumer privacy and concerns.

The association has also developed a Code of Conduct for ethical marketing on the mobile channel.

Ms. Marriott pushed for the launch of educational documents on consumer best practices, mobile commerce and mobile search on a regional level.

"I think the challenge is to deploy consistent global standards to protect the consumer experience," Ms. Marriott said. "Take what we've been successful with in the United States and Europe and apply it to new markets."

A key accomplishment for the MMA is the leap in registrations for its Mobile Marketing Forums held in New York, California, London, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong and parts of Europe. The last Mobile Marketing Forum in June 2007 in New York attracted an estimated 660 delegates, up from 400 in the prior year.

The next Mobile Marketing Forum will run June 10-11 in New York at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It is expected to attract 700 delegates. That will be Ms. Marriott's swansong forum as head of the MMA.

Teacher and preacher
The MMA has established a recruiting committee to look for Ms. Marriott's successor. Executive search company Diversified Search Ray & Berndtson has been retained to conduct the search.

Ms. Marriott intends to helm the MMA through the transition period till a new global president is named.

"By providing a long lead time in terms of my departure, we are ensuring that we are able to recruit the right president and hire key staff in the regions," Ms. Marriott said.

Once the new president is appointed, Ms. Marriott will assume the president emeritus role on the MMA's board of directors.

Ms. Marriott's successor is expected to show the same zeal as she did in her job, making the case for mobile in an ROI-focused environment.

As is the practice with other marketing organizations, Ms. Marriott visited Washington at least twice a year to meet with regulatory bodies. She briefed officials on MMA steps to protect consumers even as mobile marketing gets more sophisticated. That task will fall to her successor.

The mandate for the new president "is to hold true to the MMA mission and vision in a global community," Ms. Marriott said. "I think it'll be to retain the MMA's leadership position and then continue to drive and expand member value."

While the number of mobile marketing campaigns went from the hundreds to the tens of thousands during Ms. Marriott's tenure, some of the issues that dogged her will hit the desk of the new MMA president.

"Mobile marketing is becoming recognized as one of the more successful media channels," Ms. Marriott said, "but the challenge is one, educating more marketers on how to use it more effectively and, two, educating the consumer on how to use the devices for advanced features and functionality."