Sharp Electronics has combined its marketing, manufacturing and services units into a single new division headed by longtime industry exec Jim Sanduski.
Previously president of Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America (SEMCA), Sanduski will now preside over the newly formed Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA).
SHCA is comprised of SEMCA; Sharp Manufacturing Company of America (SMCA); and the Services and Solutions Group (SSG), which have since been reclassified as departments.
The move represents the first major reorganization under recently appointed Sharp Electronics chairman/CEO Doug Albregts. It was designed to enhance the company’s U.S. home electronics business by improving operational efficiencies and boosting overall profitability, Sharp said.
“Bringing SEMCA, SMCA and SSG together under one umbrella is a natural move for Sharp in the U.S. as we continue to strive for increased brand cohesiveness,” Albregts said. “Not only does it strengthen communications and marketing efforts between our internal teams, but it will significantly enhance utilization of valuable time and resources so that we can collectively better serve our customers.”
Sanduski, a veteran of Panasonic, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung, joined Sharp five years ago as strategic product marketing VP and succeeded John Herrington (now Samsung home appliance senior VP/general manager) as SEMCA president in January 2015.
Under the new organizational chart, department heads Shotaro Watanabe of SMCA and Toru Yakura of SSG will report directly to Sanduski, who in turn reports directly to Albregts.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunities that this newly formed collective will allow for in the U.S. market,” Sanduski said. “By integrating functions, we’ll be able to respond better to marketing opportunities and continue growing our business.”
Sharp Electronics is now majority held by Foxconn after the iPhone maker paid Sharp Corp. $3.8 billion for a two-thirds stake in the subsidiary last summer.
