Indianapolis — Thomson, hand in hand with creating a specialized sales force for its connectivity business in the Americas, has named Brian Schroeder, connectivity business unit sales and trade development VP, and Tim DiGioia, television sales and trade development VP.
As part of the sales specialization plan, and following the creation of TTE Corp. by Thomson and TCL in 2004, both companies have now agreed to the proposed transfer of its TV marketing and sales activities from Thomson to TTE.
Under the plan, DiGioia, and other Thomson marketing and sales employees focused on TV products, will eventually transition to become employees of TTE Corp.
Thomson employees with positions related to television would transfer to TTE under the plan, and employees focused on Thomson’s connectivity business activities will remain with Thomson. A few services and activities would continue to be shared by both TTE and Thomson.
Schroeder joined the company in 1994 and has held several positions, including merchandising manager at the RCA and GE brands. Most recently, he was director of national accounts, with responsibility for two of the company’s largest retail customers.
DiGioia has 25 years experience in consumer products, both in finance and sales, marketing and product management. At Thomson, he has served as director of advanced audio/video products, among other positions. As a general manager of national account sales, he held responsibility for product sales to one of the company’s largest retail customers.
Thomson is creating a dedicated market and sales team to focus on driving growth in its connectivity business of audio/video and home networking accessories, among others, said Thomson’s connectivity executive VP Mike O’Hara.
In turn, in order to better focus its activities and respond to a changing industry, TTE is establishing its own marketing and sales force to sell TV products to customers, with the transition being completed as soon as possible.
