Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

CEA Names 6 To Board Of Industry Leaders

Arlington, Va. — The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced six members to fill vacancies on its Board of Industry Leaders (BIL).

The BIL serves CEA and its executive board in an advisory role, helping set public policy positions and priorities for association activities, CEA said.

“With support of CEA’s executive board, these individuals were appointed because they each bring to the table a special type of experience, enthusiasm and difference in perspective that is necessary for the continued forward momentum of CEA,” said Daniel Pidgeon, BIL and Starpower chairman.

New appointments include:

*Craig Birmingham, VP and general manager CE, retail and e-commerce reseller channels, Ingram Micro: Birmingham has more than 24 years of IT channel sales experience and is currently responsible for leading the Consumer Electronics division of Ingram Micro, along with the sales organization dedicated to the retail and e-commerce reseller channels. Birmingham started in 1991 with Ingram Micro and has held various sales roles over a 15-year span. In 2005, Birmingham left Ingram Micro to become sales VP for Punch Software In 2010, Punch Software was acquired by Navarre and he took on the role of VP North American Sales at Encore Software. Birmingham returned to Ingram Micro in 2011 as VP of sales for Ingram Micro’s North American retail and e-commerce reseller channel.

*Henry Chiarelli, executive VP, industry relations, Gibson Brands: Chiarelli oversees corporate relationships in the technology standards and channel communities focused on emerging technologies within the consumer entertainment technology sector for Gibson, the world’s premier manufacturer of musical instruments and professional audio equipment. Previously, Chiarelli was president of DBL Distributing, a $350 million consumer electronics distributor. He also served in a number of roles for CompUSA including chief strategy officer. Prior to that, Chiarelli was a division president with RadioShack from 1998 to 2001, which capped off a 32-year career at Tandy Corp. Chiarelli is an active member of CEA and former CEA executive board member, where he served as vice chair in 2008 to 2009.

*Ximena Hartsock, cofounder, Phone2Action: Hartsock is the president and co-founder of Phone2Action, a venture-backed, award-winning startup social advocacy platform. Prior to founding Phone2Action she was a member of the executive cabinet of former Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, serving as the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation and later as the Chief of Staff of the City Administrator. During her tenure, Hartsock oversaw a $41 million annual budget where she managed the renovation of all D.C. public pools, the completion of D.C.’s state-of-the-art Olympic facility, as well as the construction and renovation of numerous athletic fields, triangle parks and dog parks. Before joining the D.C. Mayor’s cabinet, Hartsock was DC Public Schools Deputy Chief for Teaching and Learning, leading key reform. Hartsock came to that position after years in D.C. government as school teacher, assistant principal and principal.

*Carmichael Roberts, chairman and cofounder, MC10: Roberts brought the technology and team together to form MC10 in 2008, and has served as the company’s chairman and co-founder ever since. MC10’s mission is to extend human capabilities by making high-performance electronics virtually invisible, conformal and wearable. Roberts started his career as a technologist, subsequently moving into business developing applications for his research interests, and then moving on to entrepreneurship and venture capitalism. He joined North Bridge Venture Partners in 2007, focusing primarily on building companies based predominately on innovative materials technologies. A serial entrepreneur, Roberts founded and ran several companies prior to joining North Bridge, including Arsenal Medical and Nano-Terra. In 1999 he was named one of the world’s top 100 young entrepreneurs by MIT’s Technology Review. Prior to his entrepreneurial career, Roberts worked in business development at GelTex Pharmaceuticals.

*Sean Stapleton, CEO and president, Warrantech: Stapleton serves as the president and CEO of Warrantech Corporation, which provides innovative extended service plans (ESPs) and warranty programs for retailers, dealers, distributors, and manufacturers in numerous consumer and automotive markets. Stapleton has previously held positions as vice president of legal and governmental affairs for National Electronics Warranty (NEW) and has served in various leadership capacities at Warranty Corporation of America, an Asurion company. A board member and advisor to multiple entities in the specialty risk industry, he has also lent his services as an acting member of the Executive Committee for the Service Contract Industry Council (SCIC). Stapleton has developed, implemented and maintained service contract programs for an extensive list of Fortune 500 retailers, manufacturers and telecommunications providers.

*Fred Towns, president, New Age Electronics, a division of Synnex: Towns serves as president of New Age Electronics, giving retail customers better ways to move, monitor, manage and market products – making traditional forecasting models obsolete. Before New Age Electronics’ acquisition by Synnex in March 2008, Towns served as senior VP. With an extensive background in consumer technology including digital photography, home theater and digital convergence, Towns was instrumental in expanding distribution partnerships with Kodak and Panasonic and signing additional contracts with such vendors such as Sharp and Samsung. Prior to joining New Age, Towns was a senior VP at Panasonic, where he progressed through the company in a series of senior management positions. Throughout his career, Towns has creatively designed and implemented new channel strategies, including executing dealer agreements polices, converting small direct dealers to distribution partners and creating online programs for internal and external training.

Featured

Close