Acer’s founder takes charge as its second boss in a month quits
AILING computer maker Acer yesterday has lost its second boss in the space of a month.
The Taiwanese firm said Jim Wong, who two weeks ago was unveiled as chief executive, is leaving the firm.
Acer’s founder, Stan Shih, will be its new chairman after the company announced a restructuring plan earlier this month following several quarters of disappointing earnings.
Shih will take over as chairman and interim corporate president with immediate effect.
The role of CEO will be abolished with its duties transferred to the company chairman or president.
The company has been struggling to revamp in the face of sluggish growth in the PC market, in which it was once the world’s second-biggest vendor, and has failed to make meaningful inroads into the higher-growth mobile market.
Worldwide PC shipments have seen negative growth every quarter for the past year, including a nearly 10 per cent year-on-year growth decline in the third quarter of 2013, according to research firm IDC.
Earlier this month the company reported a quarterly loss of 13.12bn Taiwanese dollars (£275.5m), which prompted then-CEO JT Wang to resign and the firm to announce a seven per cent cut in its workforce.
Vincent Chen, an analyst with Yuanta Securities in Taipei, said that Shih’s return as chairman and the end of the CEO position is a positive development that signifies a hands-on role for the 69-year-old founder.