By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY: Ever since key Australian management personnel walked out on Taiwanese Smartphone manufacturer, HTC, in May this year, the Australian subsidiary has been looking to bolster its management ranks and has just appointed a sales and marketing director.
The company has appointed ex- Ericsson employee Anthony Petts as its new director of Sales and Marketing for HTC Australia and New Zealand. Petts was previously responsible for multimedia solutions at Ericsson Australia.
“The company’s heritage of innovative firsts has helped shaped the smartphone industry globally, Petts said. “I’m thrilled to be part of such an exciting team, and look forward to building on the company’s early success in Australia and New Zealand.”
Petts will be responsible for driving HTC’s mobile device business in Australia and New Zealand, and developing relationships with key industry partners such as mobile network operators, software partners, distributors and the retail channel.
Prior to his eight years at Ericsson, Petts was business development manager for Vodafone’s Mobile Data Division. Before joining Vodafone, he spent eight years as principle at Breakthrough Communication, the largest Motorola Two-Way radio distributor, and was instrumental in driving the business from start-up to having presence in most capital cities across Australia and a staff of 80.
Petts started his career in telecommunications at Motorola Communications Australia, where he was initially a project engineer and later an account manager.
HTC Corporation’s vice president, Asia-Pacific, Jack Tong, said that the appointment came at a good time.
“The depth of Anthony’s mobile industry experience is a great asset to our Australia and New Zealand management team and is pivotal to driving HTC’s growing business,” he said.
“We have just launched the HTC Touch Diamond, our flagship device for 2008, which has been recognised for its design and technology innovation, and we have a very exciting roadmap of product innovation ahead.”