Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s fourth-largest PC maker, yesterday said the board has tapped company founder and former chairman Stan Shih (施振榮) to be the chairman and interim president as the company tries to turn itself around.
Former chairman and CEO Wang Jeng-tang (王振堂) and president Jim Wong (翁建仁) stepped down with immediate effect.
In the statement, Shih said George Huang (黃少華), one of his co-founding partners at Acer, will join Acer to help lead the company during the transition.
“Chairman and chief executive officer J.T. Wang and corporate president Jim Wong have both stepped down to shoulder responsibility for the company’s recent [poor] performance,” Acer said. “The company will hand over the corporate presidency to the appropriate candidate as soon as possible.”
On Nov. 5, Acer announced that Wang had tendered his resignation as chairman and chief executive officer, after reporting third-quarter operating losses of NT$2.57 billion (US$86.97 million), bigger than the NT$613 million operating losses recorded in the previous quarter.
The company later announced Wang would retain the chairmanship until his tenure ends in June next year, while Wong would take over from Wang as Acer’s new chief executive officer from Jan. 1 next year.
However, after both Wang and Wong resigned with immediate effect, Acer’s board of directors appointed Shih chairman, until the end of his term on the board.
The board also decided to vacate the position of chief executive officer, Acer said. The chief executive officer’s duties will be handed to the chairman or president.
“This [the resolution] is expected to boost the company’s decisionmaking efficiency,” the statement said.
In the future, both Wang and Wong would act as advisers to the company to ensure a smooth transition, Acer said.
“Due to the situation Acer now faces and my personal social responsibilities, I must stand up and take the reins without salary,” Shih said.
“I will honor and complete all the public affairs and engagements that I have committed to, but I will also fully support Acer’s information and communication device business, and transform the company,” he added.
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