Irvine, Calif. – Randy Waynick, a 25-year veteran of Sony
Electronics who once held the position of home products division senior VP, has
been named to the newly created position of chief sales officer for key Sony
rival
.
Waynick is now running the company’s sales operations and will
report directly to Vizio president Ben Wong.
His arrival at the company signals an evolution in the role of
the No. 2-ranked LCD TV supplier. Vizio earned its bones as a top-ranked U.S.
TV brand by undercutting top-tier brands with high-value entry and mid-range LCD
TVs and peripheral products, primarily through high-volume retail accounts
including Costco and Walmart.
But as the established TV leaders began lowering prices to
compete, Vizio has expanded its value-priced business model and product catalog
with leading-edge technologies and feature sets.
The move has kept Vizio in the second market share position for
the U.S. and opened Vizio’s doors to a broader class of dealers with the
ability to sell the latest features and products, including 3D TV, backlit LED
LCD systems, and widget-based Internet TV services — all areas where Sony also
excels.
Most recently, Waynick has been the Sony Electronics strategic alliance
group senior VP, a position he assumed in April 2009. In that role he was
responsible for aligning strategy, resources and development of new products
and services across all product categories.
In 2005, he was named the
home products division senior VP, directing the marketing of Sony televisions
and home audio/video products with specific focus on high-definition TV, and
the commercialization of Blu-ray hardware.
He replaced another longtime Sony executive, Michael Fidler, in
the post.
Prior to that, he was sales senior VP, handling some of Sony’s
largest retail accounts, including primary responsibility for the Best Buy
account.
Waynick holds numerous degrees, including a Ph.D. in organization
and management. His research explored increasing in-store share via customer
service techniques and impact of the Internet on the selling Function and role.
Waynick has participated in executive education at the University
of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, Harvard University and The Center for
Creative Learning. He remains an active professor at two universities teaching
marketing, management, e-business, multinational marketing and motivating IT
professionals.
