Cambridge, Mass. — Ambient Devices has named Cal Yankowski, former Sony Electronics president and Palm CEO, its CEO, effective today.
Yankowski will lead the Ambient team to drive the next phase of growth for the company, to expand markets and distribution, build Ambient’s consumer brand and deliver new mass-market products, the company said in a release.
“Carl brings the experience, leadership and operational skills to carry Ambient to the next level,” said Nicholas Negroponte, Ambient board member and major investor. “We are excited for Carl and the Ambient team to deliver new products, open new distribution and licensees, and expand the Ambient brand.”
David L. Rose, Ambient’s co-founder, previous CEO and visionary on ubiquitous computing, will leave Ambient to pursue other interests, but remains “a significant shareholder” in the company. Rose has served as Ambient’s CEO since co-founding the company in 2001 with Pritesh Gandhi, COO, and Ben Resner, chief technical officer. Rose will continue as chairman.
“Ambient is enjoying significant momentum, and is at a great inflection point” said Rose. “With Carl leading the team, I am confident that our original vision for ambient information everywhere will become a reality for millions of consumers in the near future.”
Ambient Devices was founded in 2001 to commercialize patent-pending technologies pioneered at the MIT Media Lab. For more information, visit www.ambientdevices.com.