Acer's Jim Wong Becomes Corp. President And Touch Group Leader

As far as computer industry shakeups go, this one is pretty big. Earlier in the year, we had a hunch that Acer was planning to shake things up when it came to owning the corner office, and this week the company has made clear their plans for the future. Acer will select Jim Wong as Corporate President, with the board of directors approving the move and making it effective "immediately." Wong previously held the positions of corporate senior vice president and president of IT Products Group (ITGO), and together with Chairman and CEO, J.T. Wang, they will "lead the company forward to embrace new challenges and opportunities in the new ICT age."

Of course, a change at the top is only truly interesting if there's something else that shifts internally. And while Acer's not making too big of a deal just yet, the simultaneous create of a Touch Business Group to "enhance development of new mobile devices" sounds mighty enticing. Wong is also being chosen to lead this group into the future, and with mobility obviously playing a much larger role these days, it's not surprising to see Acer focusing efforts in that direction.

Will this lead to superphones that can really compete with those coming from HTC, LG, Samsung and Apple? We're hoping to see more from the new group at the upcoming trade shows, Computex perhaps, but until then, it's a great big mystery that'll simply have to be dwelled upon.

Acer appoints Jim Wong as Corporate President

Through teamwork, company to face challenges and embrace opportunities of the new ICT industry

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (April 19, 2011) – Acer Inc.'s board of directors has approved the candidacy of Jim Wong as the new Corporate President, with immediate effect. Wong previously held the positions of corporate senior vice president and president of IT Products Group (ITGO). Together with Chairman and CEO, J.T. Wang, they will lead the company forward to embrace new challenges and opportunities in the new ICT age.

Acer Chairman and CEO, J.T. Wang, states, "For the past ten years Jim has led Acer's global IT operations, including product development and logistics. In that time he has shown outstanding leadership and made 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. Therefore, we regard Jim as a well-qualified candidate to step into the role of Acer corporate president."

Wang continues, "The presidential candidacy must fulfill company's needs for future development, and show capability to lead the company forward. As the ICT industry shifts from single to multiple operating system platforms, it opens up new challenges as well as new opportunities. Acer needs a leader who is familiar with technology, as well as understands the market. We reviewed Jim's potential and agreed he would fit well in the role."
The rapid growth from data-creation to data-consumption devices is increasing the ICT market scale and opening up new prospects. Acer will aggressively yet cautiously develop data-consumption products, tablet PCs and smartphones based on the solid foundation of the main PC business.

Jim Wong, new corporate president of Acer states, "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."

In the PC business, Acer will continue to seek volume/shipment growth, but we must optimize our multi-brand strategy by having clear differentiation of the brands' positioning and create value for our customers. Concurrently, Acer shall focus on developing selective models for mobile devices to lay a solid foundation for the future.

Three key principles have been defined by Acer's new management to ensure successful decision making:

Promote the spirit of teamwork to enhance company's overall competitiveness, and encourage closer communication between front-end and back-end management teams for better mutual understanding.

Simplify operational systems and processes to boost effectiveness and speed.
Strengthen corporate governance and enhance company sustainability.
Wong joined Acer in 1986, with experience in sales, product marketing, product development, with a keen understanding of ODM supplier operations and the brand business. In 2001 when he took charge of the ITGO, he has been one of the core members of Acer's top management team. In 2005 he was promoted to corporate senior vice president.

Born in 1958, Wong holds a bachelor degree, majoring in mathematics from Soochow University in Taiwan, and an MBA from Emory University, Georgia, USA. In 1999 he received Taiwan's 17th Annual Management of Excellency Award.


Acer establishes Touch Business Group to enhance development of new mobile devices

Acer Corporate President Jim Wong to lead Touch Business Group

Campbell Kan to lead PC Global Operations

Walter Deppeler to lead Chief Marketing Office

TAIPEI, TAIWAN (April 19, 2011) – Acer Inc. announces organizational adjustments in separating the back-end product-line operations into two independent entities: Touch Business Group (Touch BG) and PC Global Operations (PCGO) lead by new Acer corporate president, Jim Wong, and Campbell Kan, former VP of the smart handheld business unit, respectively. In addition, Acer announces new functions for mid- and long-term business planning and operation analysis.

To make significant inroads in the mobile device business, Acer has reorganized the former IT product global operations into two independent entities. The newly founded Touch BG comprises of the former tablet PC and smartphone teams, while the PCGO consists of the main PC product lines.

The Touch BG shall be led by new Acer corporate president, Jim Wong, and president of Eten Information Systems, Simon Hwang, concurrently appointed deputy president of Touch BG.

Acer president, Jim Wong, states, "Touch/mobile devices open up a host of new opportunities. They form Acer's new business and growth engine for the future. To focus on this market, we saw the need to allocate sufficient resources, and devise a new management structure different from the PC business specifically for this line of business."

New Functions
Acer also creates three new functions deemed necessary for company's competitive development, they are: Chief Marketing Office (CMO) – responsible for brand position and marketing strategy; Chief Technology Office (CTO) – responsible for mid to long term planning and integration of technologies; and Operation Analysis Office (OAO) – for studying and analyzing company business models and financial affairs.

Senior corporate VP and EMEA president, Walter Deppeler, shall concurrently serve as CMO, while Tiffany Huang, AVP of supply chain operations will concurrently oversee the OAO. The CTO will be jointly led by former VP of quality and service, Jackson Lin, former CTO of products development, R.C. Chang, and former VP of technology center, Arif Maskatia.