TowerGroup has hired Bob Egan as director of the Emerging Technologies research service.
A veteran of the wireless and IT spaces, Egan brings to TowerGroup a wealth of research experience and thought leadership on the opportunities and implications surrounding mobile technologies for the financial services sector, including enterprise mobility, security risks and solutions, wireless broadband, the regulatory landscape, and much more. Egan joins TowerGroup from Mobile Competency – a firm he founded in 2002 to help businesses leverage mobile technology to become more productive.
“The evolution of the mobile channel and other fast-emerging technologies is critically important to financial institutions and the companies that serve them,” said Karen Cone, president and CEO of TowerGroup. “Tremendous opportunities are building to increase the productivity and effectiveness of employees and processes from an internal perspective, as well as externally to enhance the customer experience and available touchpoints. But with this comes an exponential increase in risk relative to information security and, ultimately, reputation. We are extremely pleased that someone of Bob’s stature and knowledge of this shifting landscape has joined TowerGroup to provide our clients with superior insight and counsel.”
Egan has more than 25 years of wireless and IT industry experience. Prior to founding his firm Mobile Competency, he held corporate leadership positions at Corechange, Digital Equipment Corp., Waters Associates and GTE Research Laboratories, and was a leading analyst at Gartner in the mobile space. As a vice president with Gartner, he received the firm’s esteemed “Thought Leadership Achievement Award.” Industry trade Wireless Review has called him the “Market Maker” and he was named one of the top six most influential industry analysts by Adweek’s Technology Marketing magazine.
Over the course of his career, Egan has written hundreds of articles and reports on the mobile industry. His perspective is often sought by members of the print and broadcast media including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, BusinessWeek and ABC News. He also serves as a board advisor to Mobile Enterprise magazine.
Egan made his TowerGroup debut with a presentation at the 2005 TowerGroup Financial Services Business and Technology Conference, titled “Financial Services Institutions Secure Their Future: Navigating the Abyss of Innovation and Ubiquity.” In it, he underscored the dynamic nature of the information security ecosystem, and explored which emerging technology trends will most influence both the business and IT initiatives of financial institutions over the coming years.
“Bob has long-served as an educator and a guide for business and technology professionals, helping them navigate the complex array of issues relating to mobility and how it affects enterprise efficiency and profitability,” said Guillermo Kopp, vice president of the Cross-Industry research practice at TowerGroup. “His arrival as head of our Emerging Technologies service further affirms our commitment to providing the financial services community with both a vision of the future of the businesses, and a roadmap to leverage technology breakthroughs and act on that vision.”