HTC Appoints new CEO To Embrace 5G, AI And XR Future

Yves joins HTC from Orange, one of the world’s largest telecommunications firms, where he served as EVP of Consumer Equipment and Partnerships, overseeing Orange’s connected technology strategy and business. Yves’s background includes deployment of the world’s largest consumer electronic brands as well as ownership of an entire portfolio of connected and mobile services, and he also served as a member of Orange’s innovation technology group, charged with developing disruptive revenue opportunities.

Cher Wang will continue as Chairwoman of the HTC board, in which she will focus on future technologies that align with HTC’s expanding portfolio and vision of VIVE Reality.

“When I took over as CEO four years ago, I set out to reinvent HTC as a complete ecosystem company and lay the foundations for the company to flourish across 5G and XR. So, now is the perfect time to hand over the stewardship of HTC to a strong leader to guide us on the next stage of our journey,” said Cher Wang, Chairwoman, HTC. “I am truly delighted that Yves is taking the reins; he has a long association with our company, and he shares our passion for innovation. I firmly believe Yves is the right leader to continue to lead HTC to its full potential.”

“HTC has long been a leader for new technology innovation and I’m honored to be selected by the Board of Directors to lead the next phase of HTC,” said Yves Maitre, CEO at HTC.

Yves Maitre, CEO, HTC

“Across the world, HTC is recognized for its firsts across the mobile and XR space. I am incredibly energized to grow the future of both 5G and XR alongside HTC employees, customers and investors.  We will set out immediately to continue the transition from building the worlds’ best consumer hardware to also building complete services around them to make them easy to manage and deploy.”

So what does this mean for HTC? New blood new ideas? New phones? Don’t hold your breath. Over the past few months we have heard nothing from our sources that would suggest anything substantial will come from HTC in the mobile space with direct advice from HTC employees being “If you’re looking for a new device right now, get a Pixel”. They float the idea of a 5G device around apparently but in the end 5G isn’t ready for normal consumer markets and in my opinion certainly wouldn’t be a wise spending decision given the current state of HTC’s finances.

Let us know what your thoughts are. Do you still hold a flame for HTC? or have you moved on…