Attempting to reverse sliding fortunes, electronics manufacturer HTC's board of directors has appointed co-founder Cher Wang as the company's new chief executive. She replaces Peter Chou, who is headed for a role as the leader of the company's new HTC Future Development lab, and will focus on future growth for the company. Over the last two years, Wang had been increasingly involved in the running of various aspects of the business.
The Board of Directors and executive team agreed that it was now appropriate to formalize that progression and make the organizational changes necessary to enable HTC to proceed to the next stage of its development. In 1997, University of California graduate Wang co-founded HTC.
Last year, Ms. Wang was named of the 25 people CNBC judged to have had the most profound impact on business and finance since 1989. In 2011, Ms. Wang was named "the most powerful woman in wireless" by Forbes and one of the most influential women by Fast Company, and she has been ranked on Fortune's annual "most powerful women" list continuously since 2012.
Wang told Bloomberg News in an interview following the appointment that "I know the company, I know the people, and I have the vision. I think I am the best candidate. I suggested it."
