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Big shake-up: HTC’s Peter Chou out as CEO, replaced by founder Cher Wang

Published Mar 20th, 2015 7:45AM EDT
HTC CEO Cher Wang

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Peter Chou has been at the helm of HTC for years, guiding the company as it rose to briefly become the top player in the smartphone market. Unfortunately, he was also guiding the company as sales plummeted over the past few years, forcing the smartphone maker to cut costs and rethink its entire strategy.

Now, Chou’s time at the top of the company is no more. HTC announced on Friday morning that Chou is stepping down as CEO, and he will be replaced by chairwoman and company co-founder Cher Wang.

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“We are seeing rapid changes in the industry, with the smartphone as our personal hub connecting us to a growing world of smart devices. We pioneered the smartphone industry; now we are applying that thinking to realize the potential of a new generation of connected products and services,” new CEO Wang said. “The overwhelming response that our virtual reality product, HTC Vive, received earlier this month underlines the importance of these new connected technologies for our future.”

She continued, “As an entrepreneur at heart, I am excited to see so many new opportunities, and I am honoured to accept this opportunity to help shape the next stage of HTC’s development.”

Chou will remain with HTC and will head its Future Development Lab.

The news comes just one day ahead of the local launch of the company’s new flagship phone, the HTC One M9. While the handset isn’t yet ready to make its debut in the U.S., smartphone shoppers in Taiwan will be able to purchase the One M9 beginning on Saturday.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.