Mike Volpi joins Joost as CEO

Mike Volpi, a Silicon Valley executive and former senior vice president at Cisco Systems Inc., was named chief executive of Joost Inc., which distributes television programming over the Internet. Joost, started in January 2006 and based in London, makes software and runs a service that lets makers of content such as television shows stream their programming to consumer PCs equipped with Joost software. Consumers view the shows on the full-screen of a PC and with Joost software can also instant-message and search for content on the service. The Joost service also collects a lot of information about its users, which the company will use to attract advertising.

Mr. Volpi comes to the start-up after a 13-year career at network-equipment maker Cisco, where he helped drive an aggressive acquisition strategy in the 1990s that fueled the company's growth. Most recently, he headed the company's $11 billion division that builds network equipment for telecom companies and network providers. The appointment punctuates a boom of new-media companies that are racing to establish businesses supplying video and television content over the Internet.

No question Mr. Volpi is ready for the position. Joost has the opportunity to make a huge impact on television; however, it also represents big risks and challenges. Nevertheless, at 40, Mr. Volpi has already proved that he is up to them.