Tantrum Street bolsters board with mobile industry veteran
Tantrum Street has added Roman Kikta, managing partner and founder of Mobility Ventures, to its board, where he will provide strategic guidance for the retail technology startup as it rolls out its Cartwheel Register mobile checkout app and Skip Wallet digital wallet app to the North American market.
“Tantrum Street is redefining mobile payments and is one of those special companies that brings together the key ingredients needed for a breakthrough business opportunity — disruptive technology, global market opportunity, and a dedicated team with intense market focus and a great vision,” said Kikta. “Tantrum Street’s cloud backend together with Cartwheel Register and Skip Wallet apps hold tremendous potential to simplify the checkout experience for both retail and online shopping. I’m excited to help them grow and become a force in the marketplace.”
Kikta has served industry leaders such as Nokia and Panasonic, as well as startups such as InnerWireless (acquired by BlackBox Networks), Spatial Wireless (acquired by Alcatel) and NowPublic.com (acquired by Clarity Media and now Examiner.com).
“Roman’s vast experience and exemplary track record in the mobile industry, and specifically with startups, is a tremendous advantage for us as we market and scale our platform and apps, both domestically and internationally,” said William Cervin, co-founder and CEO of Tantrum Street. “We’re thrilled to have him on board, and are excited to have the benefit of his strategic insights and counsel as we break through yesterday’s boundaries in the payment industry.”
Kikta is credited with having led the development and commercialization of mobile technology and convergence, creating several wireless industry firsts, including cellular payphones, voice recognition dialers, cellular in-building systems and several generations of mobile transportable and portable phone designs, the company said. He was also involved in the initial launch of cellular (analog) and PCS (digital) in the U.S.
Kikta has a bachelor of arts from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Private Equity and Venture Capital program at Harvard Business School, as well as the Strategy and Innovation program at MIT Sloan and Management program at New York University.