Stan Shih
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Acer's next CEO steps down before even starting, as retired founder takes over
It's all change at Acer at the moment. Just 15 days after CEO and Chairman JT Wang stepped down, the man set to replace him, Jim Wong, has also left the business. The changes come after Acer posted a huge loss and wrote-off value from sub-brands Gateway and Packard Bell, apparently sealing the fate of the executives. In the wake of the news, founder Stan Shih will come out of retirement and assume the role of chairman and interim president "without salary," with co-founder George Huang joining the new-look old-school management team. Following today's reshuffle, Shih will have to make day-to-day decisions for the company. While Wang and Wong may have taken the blame for Acer's recent poor performance, both will hang around "to ensure a smooth transition."
Acer CEO resigns as company posts record loss
Just 24 hours after one tech heavyweight lost its CEO, another has been forced to bow out of the game. After his company posted a huge loss and wrote off a chunk of value from sub-brands Gateway and Packard Bell, Acer CEO and Chairman JT Wang has decided to resign. In an email statement, the executive expresses regret that he couldn't lead the firm back to prosperity and takes responsibility for the recent spate of huge losses. In the wake of the news, current president Jim Wong will assume the role of CEO on January 1st, while company founder Stan Shih will head up a transition committee as JT Wang serves the remainder of his tenure as chairman -- which is due to end in June of next year.
Acer's creator Stan Shih calls iPad, MacBook Air "short-term phenomena"
The founder of Taiwan-based PC manufacturing firm Acer, Stan Shih, seems to be doing some wishful thinking out loud these days. He recently commented that the "fads" for ultrabooks and tablets are "short-term phenomena," urging notebook component suppliers to innovate and make more value-added products. That isn't keeping Acer from coming out with their own competitors to the iPad and MacBook Air. Acer is mounting a competitor to the iPad in the form of a 7-inch Iconia tablet that should be hitting the market soon at a US$345 price point. A look at the company's product lineup for the U.S. shows an Aspire TimelineX notebook with a 1-inch "ultra-slender" design. Shih did tip his hat to Apple, noting that Apple has been successful with the iPad through outside-the-box thinking that other notebook manufacturers should emulate. Shih also commented that consumers want "products with low price and convenience," seemingly ignoring the fact that current competitors to the iPad such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, HP TouchPad, and BlackBerry PlayBook all seem to be having problems gaining a footing in the tablet market.
Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci resigns amid disagreement about company's future direction
Acer's board and CEO don't seem to have been getting along too brilliantly lately and now the situation's come to a point with the resignation of one Mr. Gianfranco Lanci from the company's helm. In a press release just distributed, Acer points out that Lanci held different views from the majority of board members about the "importance on scale, growth, customer value creation, brand position enhancement, and on resource allocation and methods of implementation." Following a few months of discussions that failed to deliver a consensus, both parties have decided it's best to part ways. For now, things continue as normal with Acer's goal still being globalization of its product portfolio, whose centerpiece will remain the personal computer, according to Chairman JT Wang. He'll be the man to take over for Lanci while Acer seeks out a replacement for the outspoken Italian.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Acer founder characterizes Apple as a mutant virus
Wow, a mutant virus? This analogy may sound like a ringing bell for another cat fight on the playground, but Acer founder and retired chairman Stan Shih is actually semi-praising Apple here. Speaking at the launch of an Acer touch-themed design competition, Shih said that while Apple's taking the "revolution" highway to tackle the PC market, Acer's success has always depended on its time-consuming but more pragmatic "evolution" strategy, and it'll keep doing so to lay the ground for the next 30 years or so. Here's how China Times paraphrased Shih: "Apple is like a mutant virus, escaping from the traditional structure of the PC industry, but the industry will still eventually build up immunity, thus further blocking this trend, and we believe the size of the non-Apple camp will exceed Apple's, because this is how the industry normally evolves." Assuming the second half of Shih's quote refers to the tablet market share, this certainly echoes the words of his good friend JT Wang. That said, this is also the man who's boldly predicted that all American PC brands will be gone within 20 years, but there's no promise that Apple won't be kicking out a few more revolutions in the coming years. Anyway, doesn't Acer have more to worry about for the mean time?
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LXVI: Acer founder predicts extinction of US PC makers within 20 years
Oh, this is as tasty as it is salacious. Acer founder and former chairman (now retired) Stan Shih has come out with the bold prediction that US computer brands are on the way out -- if they do not adjust to the new reality of a PC market focused on low cost. When asked how he foresees Acer and ASUS establishing their brand credentials in the USA when they're engaged in constant price wars, Shih resolutely stated that lowering costs and prices is the way to do it. Drawing an analogy to the fate of US television brands (pow!), Shih pointed out his belief that American vendors aren't capable (slap!) of delivering the sort of affordability that the market is set to permanently demand. As harsh as his words may be, let's not forget Acer recently jumped Dell for the number two spot in volume of global sales, so let's not ignore what may in fact be prophecy rather than mere prattle.
