HTC names CFO as head of global sales

HTC said that current CFO Chialin Chang will also serve as global head of sales for the time being as the Taiwanese smartphone maker works to reverse sales declines and spark a turnaround.

In the third quarter, HTC reported its first quarterly loss since it became a public company in 2002. According to Reuters, earlier this month HTC also posted its 25th consecutive month of declining year-over-year sales.

HTC said that Chang had been involved in sales before and the change is aimed at consolidating operations. Chang will also remain CFO "until the time a transition of responsibilities makes sense," the company said in a statement.

According to ABI, HTC was the world's 11th largest handset maker with shipments of 4.1 million devices in the third quarter. HTC has faced intense competition in the Android smartphone market from larger-scale companies such and Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Huawei and ZTE, as well as smaller Chinese competitors.

Since coming on board as CFO in April 2012, Chang has cut research and development costs, reversed earlier acquisitions and helped reorganize HTC's Chinese business. However, HTC's attempted comeback this year using its One franchise of smartphones has foundered, despite the gadgets, and especially the flagship One, being well reviewed.

The company has gone through several months of executive reshufflings. In October, HTC Chairwoman and co-founder Cher Wang took over some of the day-to-day duties of CEO Peter Chou so he could focus more on products, in what was positioned as a temporary move to help the struggling smartphone maker right the ship.

CMO Benjamin Ho took over marketing in January. In July, HTC once again made Jason Mackenzie, who had been its president of global sales, the leader of its Americas business. Mackenzie had been promoted to the new role of head of global sales and marketing in July 2011, adding to his role as head of North America.

Mackenzie later handed the North America role to Mike Woodward, a former AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) executive, in July 2012. In July of this year, Woodward took a new post as head of HTC's newly created emerging devices unit, though it's unclear what that unit is focused on. However, in October Chou told the Financial Times that wearable technology is "a critical segment for us. It matches what we do today as a mobile experience overall. That is one area we are excited about."

For more:
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article
- see this Telegraph article

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