NQ Mobile Scoops Up Former Windows Phone Marketing GM

Former Windows Phone marketing GM Gavin Kim has jointed the team at NQ Mobile. The firm announced on Monday that Gavin will become NQ Mobile’s Chief Product Officer, a position that was created with the former Samsung and Microsoft employee in mind.

Under his new role Kim will be responsible for some aspects of the company’s developmental processes and he will be responsible for establishing “strategic partnerships” for his company’s products.

It’s still unclear why Gavin Kim left Microsoft after just five months on the job however he hinted at his reasons today when he said privacy and security for devices were “significant concerns” for his decision to join the NQ Mobile team. Kim went on to tout the company’s “leadership and global distribution” as added incentives for making the jump.

Kim left his post at Samsung late last year to join the Microsoft team but stayed on the Windows Phone based job for just five months. Analysts have since speculated that the Windows Phone’s trouble in gaining adoption led to his quick exit although Microsoft and Gavin Kim have not confirmed that rumor at this time.

The switch to NQ Mobile means Kim will return to working with the Google Android platform, a system he is familiar with thanks to his time spend at Samsung. NQ Mobile is no longer working with Microsoft phones because the company’s security layer will not work properly within Windows Phone 7 devices.

Are you surprised to learn that Gavin Kim has made the jump back to a Google Android based company?