Secretive Ground Truth taps Sterling Wilson as top executive

The super secretive mobile analytics startup Ground Truth has landed a high-profile technology executive as its top guy.  Sterling Wilson, the former president of Qpass and former chief financial officer at Concur Technologies, is now working at the Seattle startup as president, according to three sources familiar with the company and business incorporation records filed with the state

We're also hearing that the company is nearing completion of a venture round with Voyager Capital, the Seattle venture firm which counts Tom Huseby as a strategic partner. Huseby was among the earliest investors in Qpass, which recorded one of the more successful venture exits in recent years when it sold to Amdocs for $275 million in 2006.

Ground Truth has kept an extremely low profile ever since it was started by former Medio Systems co-founder Michael "Luni" Libes. In a short interview with TechFlash in early April, Libes said Ground Truth was no more than a business plan at that time.

But it appears as if things are moving forward. Papers filed with the state indicate that the company incorporated last October. They list Wilson as president and Libes as officer.

Huseby -- though his name is misspelled in the filing -- is shown as chairman. His longtime colleague, Susan Sigl, also is listed as an officer. Noel Howe -- a Seattle attorney and former general counsel at Seattle online music startup Melodeo -- is named as secretary.

So what's the stealthy startup up to?

I am hearing they are building a new mobile analytics service, an area where another Seattle company has found success: M:Metrics. That company, which measures how people use mobile devices, sold out to comScore last year for $44.3 million.

One person who was familiar with Ground Truth's plans said the company is doing something very clever, while another source said they have attracted quite a bit of buzz with the team involved.

Wilson spent eight years at Qpass, leading the company and its more than 280 employees after the Amdocs buyout. Before that, he spent six years at Concur as chief financial officer and executive vice president.

Wilson was traveling, and could not be reached for comment. Libes declined to comment via email.

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