Qualcomm names Rocco Fabiano president of Firethorn

SAN DIEGO, USA: Qualcomm Inc. has announced the appointment of financial services industry veteran Rocco Fabiano to lead the Company's mobile commerce subsidiary, Firethorn Holdings LLC.

As president of Firethorn, Fabiano will provide strategic direction and lead Firethorn's expansion into new markets. Fabiano succeeds Firethorn founder Tripp Rackley, who will be transitioning to a new role on Firethorn's advisory board.

"Rocco has a rare combination of leadership experience in large enterprises, entrepreneurial environments and startup companies that makes him uniquely qualified to lead the Firethorn team," said Steve Altman, president of Qualcomm. "His expertise will be a tremendous asset as Firethorn builds on the increasing adoption of its mobile banking and m-commerce platforms."

Fabiano joins Firethorn with more than 25 years experience in the financial services industry, including overseeing a $17 billion private label credit card business and a credit card rewards program. He also served as head of a $12 billion retail bank.

Fabiano spent five years as a group executive for Household International, where he oversaw four of the company's subsidiaries accounting for $35 billion in assets and $650 million in after-tax profits. As an entrepreneur, Fabiano founded four businesses, taking two public and selling two others. He has been an advisor on financial services to many of the nation's largest private equity firms. In 1997, Fabiano was honored as an Ernst & Young/NASDAQ Entrepreneur of the Year.

Fabiano earned a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University and holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Colorado State University.