Skype fills two exec slots

Skype has added to its ranks of senior management.

The Internet telephony company has hired 3Com's Neal Goldman as its new chief legal and regulatory officer and Mig33's Doug Bewsher as chief marketing officer. With their jobs starting in June, both men will report directly to Skype CEO Josh Silverman and work at company headquarters in Luxembourg.

Goldman's position is new. The current vice president of legal, Robert Miller, will continue in his role, Silverman said.

Goldman is joining Skype from 3Com, recently bought by Hewlett-Packard, where he was an executive vice president and chief legal and administrative officer. His position included managing 3Com's intellectual property program. Before 3Com, he worked at Lotus Development, including as general counsel, and started his career 25 years ago with Data General.

"Neal's unique mix of leadership of company legal oversight, IP, and internal management functions is a solid addition to Skype's capabilities," Silverman said.

As the new chief marketing officer, Bewsher will manage the Skype brand worldwide and head up local activities to connect directly with customers. Silverman will also look to Bewsher to focus on viral marketing, which includes the use of social networks and other Web-based tools to create word-of-mouth.

Bewsher is coming to Skype from Mig33, a mobile online community, where he was chief marketing officer. According to Skype, Bewsher's global marketing strategy helped double the number of Mig33's registered users to 40 million and boosted sales fivefold. Like Skype, Mig33 taps the VoIP market, allowing people to make cheap phone calls locally or internationally.

Prior to his role with Mig33, Bewsher worked in marketing for various companies, including digital ad agency Publicis Modem and Vodafone.