Scala Inc. today announced new executive leadership appointments that position the company’s product development, marketing, and sales organizations to advance the company’s leadership in digital signage, visual communications, and advertising management.

With these moves, Scala has the management team and resources in place to lead the shift to digital signage’s next stage, where companies exploit their ability to connect to virtually any data source using almost any device. These devices can range from mobile applications, like tablets and smart phones, to CxO boards that provide real-time information by consolidating and displaying key performance metrics from customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning packages such as Salesforce.com, SAP, and Oracle.

The new executive leadership appointments are:

• Jeff Porter, president of Scala’s SignChannel division. Porter is responsible for all aspects of the SignChannel business unit, a Software as a Service (SaaS) innovator in the fast-growing, do-it-yourself, entry-level digital signage segment. He is a sought-after speaker at industry events and widely acclaimed as one of the digital signage industry’s leading pioneers. Mr. Porter previously led the Experts Group at Scala.
• Oscar Elizaga, senior vice president, Americas. Elizaga is responsible for all of Scala’s sales, services, and support operations in the United States and Latin America. He was previously vice president, EMEA, India, and Latin America at Scala. Elizaga has been a major contributor to Scala’s growth and expansion in key markets by forging strategic partnerships with channel partners and advertising/marketing firms.
• Peter Cherna, senior vice president, technology. Cherna is responsible for Scala’s global product development team, which continues to leverage technologies, such as predictive analytics, social media, mobility, and more, to provide the market’s most innovative digital signage solutions. Cherna was previously vice president, research and development, at Scala.
• Dave Palermo, vice president, global marketing. Palermo is responsible for the global structure, strategy, and execution of all aspects of marketing and communications with a focus on building Scala’s global brand and demand generation engines. He joined Scala this year with more than 20 years of technology products and services industry marketing experience, including experience at SunGard Availability Services and Compaq Computer.

“Digital signage is poised for strong growth in 2012 because, unlike traditional media, it can reach large audiences in very targeted ways – at critical places such as points of decision and points of sale,” says Tom Nix, CEO at Scala. “With today’s executive appointments, we have aligned the organization to accelerate our leadership in helping customers and partners transform markets by delivering personalized, enjoyable encounters with digital signage wherever consumers or employees are located.”

ABI Research shows spending in the global digital signage market, including software and hardware, is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2010 to $4.5 billion by 2016. Intel projects there will be 22 million digital signs deployed worldwide by 2015.

Scala’s digital signage software makes it easy to develop and deliver meaningful branded content to micro-audiences in creative ways. Scala enables customers and partners to create broadcast-quality channels that deliver unique messages – pulling content from a variety of information sources.