Lenovo Starts Year With New Europe Chief, TV Tie-Up 联想新年新气象：聘用新高管并推互联网电视
Lenovo (HKEx: 992), the Chinese PC maker that wants to do a lot more than sell computers, is starting off the new year with a couple of positive developments, hiring a sharp new executive to head its important European operations and also launching an interesting new web TV initiative. In the former move, the company has formally hired Gianfranco Lanci, formerly CEO of Taiwan’s Acer (Taipei: 2353) to head its Europe operations under a new reorganization of its global regions. (Chinese article) In fact, this development isn’t huge, as Lenovo actually hired Lanci as a consultant last September (previous post), so clearly they have been happy with his performance since then. I’m a fan of Lanci, who was a major force behind Acer’s rise a few years ago by correctly predicting the importance of mobile computing and stressing development of laptop computers. Of course, Acer has fallen on harder times since then due to lack of focus and innovation, and Lanci left the company last year as a result of differing opinions with other top managers. It’s unclear if Lanci can do the same for Lenovo as he did for Acer, but Lenovo clearly does need some strong leadership in Europe, following its purchase of German PC maker Medion last year and as it tries to boost its presence in developed markets in Europe and North America. (previous post) Meantime, the company has also formed a tie-up with BesTV, the digital TV arm of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China’s second biggest media group and the main TV operator in the lucrative Shanghai market. Under the tie-up Lenovo is providing set-top boxes that will allow BesTV viewers to surf the web on their televisions. (Chinese article) Like Acer, Lenovo sometimes seems to lack focus in the current digital world, often chasing the latest popular product like smartphones or gaming consoles rather than trying to innovate with its own new bets on hot new product areas. So in that light, this Internet TV initiative certainly seems refreshing as the kind of move one would expect from a leader rather than a follower. I also like the choice of SMG as its partner, as SMG is clearly one of China’s top media groups and could potentially become a leader in China’s nascent digital TV market. All that said, these 2 new moves by Lenovo, with a smart new European head and interesting Internet TV initiative, auger a promising start for 2012.
Bottom line: Lenovo’s hiring of an experienced European head and a new Internet TV tie-up both look like promising developments as it heads into the new year.
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Lenovo Considers Japan Production 联想向日本转移制造业务为明智公关手段
◙ Liu Steps Down at Lenovo — Again 柳传志再度卸任联想董事会主席
◙ Lenovo Parent Goes Down to the Farm 联想控股“务农” 瓶装水里淘金
