Fremont, Calif. — Portable GPS supplier Mio is seeking to bolster its image as a “technology brand” in personal navigation devices (PNDs) and has revamped its sales and marketing team to include veterans in consumer electronics brand building.
New sales and marketing VP Jerry Barbera served in the past as consumer video division VP of JVC and senior VP sales and marketing at TCL, owner of GoVideo. He is joined by senior marketing director Rich Black, who spent 12 years at Sony working on Vaio and HDTV home products.
Mike Williams also joins Mio as consumer marketing director. He helped launch the Sony Vaio and also worked for the company’s car stereo division as well as holding positions at Rio, Replay TV and GoVideo.
Mio said its brand and its parent Mitac have garnered a reputation as hardware OEM companies, but now Mio wants to be known as a technology brand.
“It’s about realigning the product strategy to be more typical of how consumer electronics products go to market, with a line that addresses the needs of entry-level customers, and at the top end of the line is attractive to high-end customers,” Barbera said.
Former Mio marketing director Eric Larsen left the company and current sales and marketing senior director Kiyoshi Hamai retains his post.
