01 March 2010

MEF Executive Questionnaire #3: Jonathan "JJ" Jowitt, Dolby.

MEF continues to seek new ways to profile its members and promote the thought-leadership of the senior executives within these companies. We are pleased to launch the MEF Executive Questionnaire to reveal the real people behind the industry in an informal and entertaining manner.


This will be a regular feature of the MEF blog, so make sure you subscribe via email or RSS. If you are a senior executive from one of our member companies and would like to be featured then please contact MEF Marketing Director, Stephen Jenkins.

The third in the series is from Jonathan "JJ" Jowitt, Senior Technical Marketing Manager at Dolby Mobile Content Solutions.


1. Please describe briefly your main company activities and your role within that organisation
Dolby is omnipresent in entertainment – in more than just audio. Dolby is: at the heart of all entertainment ; a trusted global brand; an inventor of world-class technologies; delivering end-to-end solutions; committed to listening to our customers and delivering on our promises.

Dolby at a glance:
  • 1,168 employees in 13 countries
  • Established over 45 years ago
  • Dolby technology in over 4.1 billion products
  • $720M in revenue FY 2009
  • 21.7% CAGR for the past 5 years
  • More than 1,600 patents and 640 trademark registrations worldwide
  • Nine Academy Awards® and eight Emmys®
My role is to be responsible for driving the penetration and stickiness of Dolby Mobile technologies from a content ecosystem angle. Dolby Mobile is a long-term strategy comprising of handset post-processing technologies for entertainment surround sound playback, codecs, and content preparation tools.

2. Without necessarily revealing any confidential information, please outline the principal business models your company uses:
Technology licensing is Dolby’s primary revenue generator

3. What has been your company’s greatest achievement to-date?
5.1 surround sound – although some might argue it was cassette tape noise reduction!

4. What is your company currently working on that is going to move the industry forward?
  • 3D technologies for Cinema, TV and beyond into devices.
  • Dolby voice technologies for clearer calls
  • And (of course) Mobile HD Surround Sound

5. What is exciting you most in 2010 (either personally or professionally)?
(Of course I have to say) Mobile HD Surround Sound, it’s amazing how immersive sound can compensate for the small screen on devices

6. What is the most important piece of technology in your life?
Mobile phones, Laptop

7. What mobile device(s) do you use?
Nokia N95, Nokia N73, LG Arena, iPhone 3GS

8. What’s your favourite application?
GPS enabled mapping

9. What’s your ringtone?
I was a partner in a small ringtone company, so I have a wide choice. But I tend to assign different tones to different contacts – it helps to know who’s calling when the device is in your pocket. Most favourites are Kill Bill 1 theme and TV them from Terry and June – it makes everybody smile.

10. Which mobile industry blogs do you regularly read and why?
Quite into
StrategyEye at the moment. Very personalisable and configurable

11. What is the biggest mobile content issue that is likely to affect the industry within the next 12 months?
The coming of the HD experience in 5.1 sound and pictures. It has the ability to make many lacklustre video/movie related channels achieve mass appeal and become quite addictive

12. Which other MEF member organisation do you most admire?
I still have a warm spot for Orange. I was lucky to have freedom to create products that achieved accolade, whilst not being burdened with too much bureaucracy.

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