Pacor Exits D&M Holdings; Hao Named CEO

By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 3/30/2009

TOKYO — Vic Pacor, CEO of D&M Holdings, has left the manufacturer and marketer of such upscale brands as Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics and others.

Yvonne Hao has been named to replace him as CEO. Hao, a member of the board, was previously GM of ADI, a $1.6 billion distribution unit of Honeywell, which is also one of D&M's customers in North America.

“Under Vic's leadership, D&M has grown significantly and transitioned successfully through the purchase of the business by Bain Capital,” said Eric C. Evans, chairman of D&M's board, in a prepared statement last Wednesday. “The board truly appreciates Vic's service and dedication to the company over the last five years, and wishes him well in his new endeavors.”

Pacor was named CEO of D&M Holdings in January after being president/COO of the company since 2004. Previously, he held executive posts with Sony Electronics and JVC Company of America.

There was no comment by D&M about his future plans and Pacor could not be reached in time for this report.

Evans said Hao “is an accomplished executive and proven leader of global businesses who brings strong consumer electronics and operations experience — as well as customer focus — to D&M.”

Hao was most recently an executive VP at Bain Capital, the investment company that acquired D&M Holdings in June 2008. In addition to her experience at Honeywell, she was also an associate partner at McKinsey & Company. She will be based at D&M U.S. headquarters in Mahwah, N.J.

D&M has also created the new position of president to be filled by Eric Simonsen. Simonsen brings 35 years of global experience helping companies with a broad range of operations and cash-flow improvements. He most recently served as chief financial officer of Nokia-Siemens Networks. Simonsen's responsibilities will include a focus on improving functional processes and financial performance, the company said.

With Pecor's departure and the appointments of Hao and Simonsen, Bob Weissburg, president of sales and marketing for D&M Americas, said he was on the phone last Wednesday with key customers, telling them that “there is no fundamental change in running the company. We are still dedicated to providing premium brands and supporting upscale consumer electronics retailers and installers.”

Weissburg added he has no intention and neither does his staff of leaving the company. The appointments show that Bain Capital is continuing to strengthen its operations with these “strong investments,” Weissburg said. “These appointments and the consolidation in November [of Denon and Boston Acoustics sales and marketing operations] enable us to focus on how to drive more business, serve our customers more effectively and work even harder on product development.”

In commenting on Pacor's departure, Weissburg said, “It was Vic's choice to move on. He created a platform here that each brand could grow and prosper.”

On the current business environment, Weissburg said the end of D&M Holdings' fiscal year is at the end of the month and that “we are seeing a definite improvement in revenues every month. We are encouraged by industry information … that business improving. We've looked at NPD data for February and saw that Circuit City, at the end, moved a lot of product that month. It is significant. Consumers are out there spending money. The demise of Circuit will bring greater revenues, not only to Best Buy, but to the many independent retailers and installers in the industry.”

D&M Holdings, which also sells and markets the McIntosh Laboratory, Snell Acoustics, Escient, Calrec Audio, Denon DJ, Allen & Heath, D&M Professional and D&M Premium Sound Solutions brands, said that Masao Goto will be appointed to the board and promoted to executive VP. Goto will oversee both the supply chain and product side of the business in Japan.