Apple's mobile-advertising VP departing

Apple's vice president of mobile advertising for Apple's iAd platform is leaving the company.

Andy Miller, who joined Apple with the company's acquisition of Quattro Wireless, is leaving to become a general partner at venture firm Highland Capital. That's the same firm that helped fund Quattro Wireless, the advertising company that Miller was the co-founder and CEO of, the report notes.

An Apple spokesman confirmed that Miller plans to leave the company, though did not provide additional details on his departure.

Miller's departure, which was first reported by AllThingsD, comes at a time when the company's advertising efforts are still in their infancy.

Apple bought Quattro Wireless in January 2010 for a reported $275 million. Just months before, rival Google purchased Quattro competitor AdMob in a deal worth nearly three times as much. Apple proceeded to shut down Quattro Wireless in September of last year, shifting its focus to iAd, the company's first-party advertising platform it launched in April 2010.

Last month, Apple began offering advertising firms a way to make large iAd buys that could then be doled out to companies at a lower volume than what Apple sells directly--a move designed to make the service more approachable to advertisers that wanted to run smaller campaigns. On the flip side of that, the company has shrugged off the inclusion of advertising of any sort on its Web properties, notably its iCloud service, which is set to launch this fall.

Updated at 11:32 a.m. PT with Apple's confirmation of Miller's departure.