HTC made headlines this month with the release of its latest flagship handset, the One M9 smartphone, and more importantly, it partnered with gaming giant Valve to reveal the Vive, the company's initial entrance into the VR space. However, its leadership changed hands today as CEO Peter Chou stepped aside to head up the company's Future Development Lab. Taking his place as CEO will be Cher Wang, the chairwoman and co-founder of HTC.
The change in power is two-fold. On one hand, Wang is now at the head of the company she co-founded 18 years ago. The hope is that with a new leader comes a turn in profits. The last time HTC had a positive change in revenue was in 2011, when it reported a 67 percent increase. In 2012 and 2013, the company dipped in revenue by 38 and 30 percent, respectively.
As for Chou's new role, it's a sign of things to come for the company. Ventures such as the Vive and Re camera are the first steps for the company as it branches out from its handset business. With Chou at the helm, HTC's new strategy is to attract even more customers through new innovations.
New products always come with risk, but that doesn't mean that HTC can't stay the course for a little while longer. Chou can continue developing new and interesting products for HTC, while Wang tries to lead the company out of the hole of falling revenues. There might come a day when Chou's division yields enough successful products that the company doesn't have to rely entirely on its handset division for revenue, but right now Wang needs to find a way to rebuild HTC's profitability.
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