HTC is making a few managerial moves to prepare itself for more growth in a smartphone-centric world. The move makes sense, as HTC is finding itself increasingly at the head of the smartphone pack when it comes to making innovative handsets with intriguing designs.
The smartphone maker said Jason Mackenzie has been promoted to the president of HTC North America and Latin America. This is a big move for Mackenzie, as the company is steadily gaining market share and recognition in the United States thanks to high-profile devices like the HTC EVO 4G for Sprint and the HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon.
The company also said Jougi Kodera will be joining as its chief product officer, Ron Louks will be the chief strategy officer, David Chen is now the chief engineering officer and Florian Seiche is now the president of HTC Europe, Middle East and Africa.
“As the smartphone industry expands at this lightning pace, it is essential for HTC to grow its management capabilities from within while also adding outside expertise,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation, in a prepared statement. “Today’s announcement is not just a signal of our current growth and progress, but of our vision for bringing unique smartphones to people all over the world.”
The moves comes as HTC is in the middle of a major growth spurt. The company has been around for a while but used to only be known as an original design manufacturer (ODM), which means it built handsets and products that other companies would sell under a different brand. Not too long ago, HTC decided to branch out on its own with its own global branding initiative that pushed HTC-branded hardware to all corners of the mobile world. It is coming into its own lately thanks to strong devices with visually-pleasing designs and strong original software.
More of the company’s success has come with devices running the Android operating system, as it has a strong Android smartphone on every major U.S. carrier. The HTC Aria on AT&T, HTC EVO 4G on Sprint, HTC Droid Incredible on Verizon and myTouch 3G Slide on T-Mobile USA are all popular devices that have been selling very well.
HTC isn’t putting all of its eggs in the Android basket though, as the company is also planning to release devices with the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 operating system. We’ve seen one of these in the wild already – with more rumored to be on the way – but it’s too soon to tell if the company will cram its Sense UI on Microsoft’s latest smartphone platform.
[Via HTC]