Acer appoints Jim Wong to arrest sales slump
Vendor splits business into mobile and PC business units and overhauls management in bid to restore good times
Acer's incoming corporate president Jim Wong will help oversee an operational streamlining and portfolio diversification as the vendor looks to counteract plummeting PC shipments.
The vendor has also split its portfolio into two units: PC Global Operations (PCGO) and Touch Business Group. Touch Business Group will focus on mobile devices and will be led by Wong. PCGO will be overseen by Campbell Kan, formerly head of Acer's smart handheld business unit.
Wong joined Acer 25 years ago and, for the past 10 years, has run the Taiwanese manufacturer's IT Products Group. His latest promotion sees him installed alongside acting chief executive JT Wang as part of the firm's top-level management.
Former chief executive Gianfranco Lanci resigned last month after three years at the top, with Acer stating that the Italian "held different views from a majority of the board members".
Senior shake-up
Wang said: "For the past 10 years, Jim has led Acer's global IT operations, including product development and logistics. In that time he has shown outstanding leadership and made an important contribution to the company. He has also worked closely with our regional operations to thoroughly understand the needs of our marketing and channels at the front-end operations."
Alongside the new corporate president, the vendor has also created three senior teams to improve operational efficacy and mid- to long-term business planning.
The new chief marketing office will be helmed by EMEA president Walter Deppeler, while supply chain chief Tiffany Huang will become the operational analysis office's leader. Both will perform their current and new jobs concurrently.
Arif Maskatia and Jackson Lin, will leave their posts as vice presidents of technology centre and of quality and service, respectively, and join incumbent CTO RC Chang as part of a three-man chief technology office team.
News of today's top-level shake-up was swiftly followed by a statement revealing that the new management duo have made a bleak assessment of the outlook for Acer in Q2. The vendor is expecting second-quarter PC shipments to decline 10 per cent sequentially.
"Recent company reorganisation, inventory adjustment and the seasonal slowdown of the PC industry in Q2 are the main factors for Acer's decline in PC shipments," said the statement.
Figures from Gartner last week revealed 2011 got off to a bad start for the Taiwanese systems maker, with global PC shipments falling 12.2 per cent year on year during Q1. Acer endured a particularly torrid time in the US, with the number of units shipped slumping almost a quarter.
Getting back on track
The vendor claimed today that it will look to restore volume growth, but also stressed the importance of pursuing development of other revenue streams. The vendor claims it is to "aggressively, yet cautiously, develop data-consumption products - tablet PCs and smartphones - based on the solid foundation of the main PC business".
The Wong-Wang double act has picked out three key objectives to return the good times to Acer. Firstly, the pair want to foster better communication between front-end and back-end management teams. The simplification of operational processes and systems is also picked out, as is bolstering corporate governance and increasing sustainability.
Wong (pictured) said: "The IT industry is encountering a profound change. I foresee many new opportunities and am ready to face the challenges ahead. I will encourage teamwork throughout the company and work closely with the new management team. We are ready with a clear set of goals and action plans."