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Microsoft finally finds a replacement for Robbie Ray Wright in Windows Mobile team

Something of a surprise at the "Magneto" launch - no, not the software, which was pretty much as expected. It was the chance to bump into Marianne Roling, who is the new EMEA director for mobility and embedded devices.

Roling, it has to be said, is more photogenic than Robbie - who is now in Microsoft Hong Kong - and is very obviously the right choice for the job, being someone who like sailing. Our Boss is a sailing nut, and was observed in close conversation with Roling at the launch.

Background for Roling is marketing - almost pure and simple, if you add "technology" to the mix. She's Dutch, though you might not guess from her accent - and that's probably down to spending half a decade in America working for Lucent, and the last three years in the UK, working for mobile operator O2.

It's too soon to get much out of her about "strategy and plans" for mobile; she joined the company the day before her birthday last week, and Microsoft hasn't had a chance to put out the press release yet. Your Sniffer had to take advantage of a "hospitality break" to pump her for some of her background: for example, why did she move from the US to O2?

She says that her background in Lucent focused on mobile - first, looking after MCI Worldcom and then, based in Florida, handling Latin America billing software sales and marketing. "And the UK interested me, because it's ahead of the US in many ways," Roling said.

The exciting thing about the UK, she says, is that it has everything. Lots of European operators match the UK in some respects, but the UK "is the most liberal, and the most competitive market, with lots of innovation both technically and in the high street retail business.

"I want to make sure this EMEA mobile unit gets to the next level of growth," she emphasised.