TTE Names Top Execs, Discusses Plans
By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 9/20/2004
INDIANAPOLIS — TCL-Thomson Electronics (TTE), the newly-formed combination of television businesses, took the occasion of CEDIA Expo to announce the appointments of Greg Bosler as executive VP, North America Profit Center, and Bharath Rajagopalan as general manager, product marketing.
In a prepared statement issued during the show, Al Arras, president of TTE, said, “We are confident that the broad scope of experience and industry know-how that Greg and Bharath bring to their new positions will significantly enhance TTE's goal of delivering advanced, high-quality HDTVs to the mainstream consumer through a strengthened product portfolio for the RCA brand in North America.”
Bosler is an 18-year CE veteran who served in marketing, sales and management positions for Thomson. Immediately prior to assuming his new post, he was VP/Americas TV Profit Center for Thomson's worldwide television manufacturing business. As executive VP for TTE, Bosler is responsible for the financial performance, strategic planning, product planning/marketing and distribution of RCA and RCA Scenium-branded color TVs sold in North America.
Rajagopalan has 20 years of technical and management experience in the electronics industry, having spent his career with IBM and Texas Instruments (TI). His most recent assignment prior to joining TTE was senior manager for Consumer Projection Products with TI's DLP Products Group. In his new job Rajagopalan is responsible for executing product strategy and developing marketing programs designed to drive profitable growth in the North American TV marketplace.
In informal remarks during a press dinner, here, Bosler said that the 200 TTE employees have been operating at U.S. headquarters, here, for a month. He noted that the TCL brand is “well-known and respected” in Asia and that the combination of Thomson and TCL assets “on a global scale is a formidable combination.”
TTE will specialize initially in the color-TV display business, and Bosler said that such video products as DVD and others are not part of the operation now but could be later on.
TTE is anxious to begin shipping its digital cable-ready RCA Scenium-brand Profiles DLP sets, which feature a 6.85-inch depth and weigh 130 pounds. The Profiles line, introduced at International CES in January, comes in a 61-inch unit with a suggested retail of $9,999, and 50-inch and 70-inch models.
Developed in cooperation with high-end display manufacturer InFocus, more details on the distribution, marketing and pricing of the line will be available later this month, Bosler said. He noted, “At last year's CEDIA Expo [Thomson] showed one DLP. Between the Profiles line and our standard DLP lineup we have [more than] ten DLPs at this year's show for 2004.”
