People, Appointments, SMS, Global: Acision, whose opinions recently featured in the DevelopingTelecoms leader column, has announced the appointment of Rory Buckley as CEO. Buckley has joined from Ericsson, where his accomplishments over 30 years have seen him advance from technical trainee to top executive positions across EMEA, North America and Asia-Pacific.

He takes over from Chris McDermott, who leaves the company to pursue new opportunities. Larry Quinn, Chairman of Acision, comments: "In acquiring Acision at the start of this year we demonstrated our belief in the potential for the messaging market and in Rory we believe we have found the right leader to take the company forward. We thank Chris for his hard work in driving the company to where it is today, and look forward to welcoming Rory to lead the team in Acision's next phase of consolidating its global market leadership as the experts in messaging and charging."

Rory Buckley himself comments: "Since its launch, Acision has often been described as a half-billion-dollar start-up, and as such it offers an exciting leadership opportunity. From a firm market leadership position we are perfectly equipped to undertake innovative product development in the areas of messaging and charging to ensure we continue to support our customers' market strategies. On a personal note I am excited at the opportunity to lead Acision through its next stage of development and to work closely with the team as we continue to make the name Acision synonymous with innovation, assured. This will ultimately contribute to our customers' growth and success."

* Acision is the messaging and charging company for over 300 network operators and service providers worldwide and was formed in June 2007 following the purchase of LogicaCMG's Telecoms Products division for US$525 million by a consortium led by Atlantic Bridge and Access Industries.

• more info: www.acision.com