Altimeter Group today announced that Michael Gartenberg has joined as its 7th partner. A mobile computing and devices analyst best known for his leadership role at JupiterResearch (now Forrester Research), Gartenberg will spearhead Altimeter guidance on the "connection points of people, digital media and 'What's Next' technologies across multiple screens, devices and locations."

With more than twenty years of experience, Gartenberg is an expert on how vendor and customer relationships are impacted by the new ways they communicate, create, consume and share content with people on emerging platforms and digital devices. With deep insight on consumer behavior and usage models, he will help Altimeter clients understand how technologies can change consumer behavior and how to reach consumers seeking contextually relevant information, no matter where they are or what devices they use.

With the addition of Gartenberg in the mobile arena, Altimeter Group seems well positioned for longterm scalable growth. Founded in 2008 by Charlene Li, the group first expanded with the addition of partners Jeremiah Owyang, Ray Wang, and Deborah Schultz.  Today, Altimeter Group has seven partners, including Gartenberg and last month's addition of partners Lora Cecere, and Allan Weber.  

The high profile partners are booking business at a brisk pace. "We have about 40 active retainer clients right now, and many, many more that we've interacted with in one-off workshops, projects, and speeches," said Li.

Gartenberg, based in New York, will telecommute from home, as do all Altimeter partners based outside San Mateo. At the same time, Li is committed to creating a company culture, a best practice proven by IT analyst industry founders Gideon Gartner and Pat McGovern and perhaps carried forward from her personal experience at Forrester Research and Monitor Group.

However, Li's approach to culture-building is far from old school. "We realize the importance of creating a company culture. We are committed to meeting together as a team - we met in January and will be meeting together in Austin before and during SXSW. We also use technologies like Socialcast to create watercooler content that helps us gel as a team," added Li.

Liberal telecommuting and collaboration technologies cannot offset requirements for physical office space. Altimeter Group has moved from its ground floor offices in the San Mateo Crossroads complex to a custom designed upper floor spread with ample space for meetings, collaboration, and the planned "Altimeter Labs". The group will continue using the ground floor meeting space for events.

The new address is: 1875 South Grant Street, Suite 680, San Mateo, CA 94402, USA (map). Altimeter partner Jeremiah Owyang posted informal construction-stage photos (Flick'r slideshow) of the new space.

All of this adds up to an irresistible mix for Gartenberg. In a prepared statement he said, "We live in perhaps the most intense and disruptive time in technology history, where Moore's Law of change that occurs every eighteen months seems to be eclipsed by change that occurs every eighteen minutes. I, therefore, am thrilled to be able to collaborate with such wicked smart peers and I look forward to offering my insight and analysis to organizations seeking to understand and prosper from 'what's next'."

Li matches his sentiments. She blogged today, "Michael has been a long-time, respected voice in the space of personal and mobile technologies, and he brings to Altimeter a unique viewpoint of how these technologies are changing the consumer experience. Understanding how people use devices to connect with content and each other is an important linchpin in creating strategies around emerging technologies for our clients."

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