Samsung Electronics has recruited a neighborhood advertising and marketing knowledgeable with 20 years of expertise to strengthen its North American smartphone enterprise. This transfer goals to slim the market share hole in North America, which is the house turf of main competitor Apple. Following Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s emphasis on the significance of recruiting prime expertise earlier this yr, the corporate is exhibiting a development of accelerating exterior expertise recruitment throughout its enterprise operations.
In response to business sources Nov. 12, Samsung Electronics not too long ago appointed Keena Grigsby, former international advertising and marketing director of Microsoft (MS) Home windows, as chief advertising and marketing officer (CMO) of the smartphone (MX) division at Samsung Electronics America (SEA). She can be liable for overseeing advertising and marketing and model methods throughout Samsung’s whole cell portfolio, together with smartphones, wearables, tablets, and PCs throughout the North American group. SEA is Samsung Electronics’ strategic hub for North American completed product (set) enterprise, the place roughly 1,000 workers work.
Grigsby has constructed almost 20 years of expertise in finance and advertising and marketing general. She labored as a monetary analyst at Verizon for eight years, then joined Apple the place she oversaw market technique and channel advertising and marketing for subsidiary Beats by Dre in North and South America. Most not too long ago, she led the advertising and marketing group at MS, dealing with demand era, product positioning, and launch methods for main merchandise together with Floor and Home windows.
This recruitment is interpreted as an try to slim the hole in North America, the place Apple holds an amazing market share, by using expertise with in depth native gross sales expertise. Whereas Samsung Electronics maintains the highest place within the international smartphone market, it has persistently held second place behind Apple in North America. Nevertheless, this yr has seen accelerated pursuit as premium smartphones have achieved consecutive successes, with Galaxy Z Fold7’s North American pre-order gross sales rising 50% in comparison with its predecessor. In response to market analysis agency Canalys, whereas the North American smartphone market share hole between Apple and Samsung Electronics widened to 33 proportion factors (p) as of the second quarter of final yr, it has narrowed to 18percentp this yr. Apple holds roughly 49% whereas Samsung Electronics holds 31%.
There may be additionally intention to maximise incidental advantages amid the reorganization of North American smartphone provide chains resulting from U.S. tariff methods. At present, Apple has its major manufacturing services in China whereas Samsung Electronics has them in Vietnam, so if Apple’s North American shipments briefly lower resulting from U.S. tariffs on China, Samsung Electronics might improve its market share.
This additionally aligns with the development of strengthening exterior expertise recruitment. Samsung Electronics appointed Michael McDermott, a house equipment distribution knowledgeable from GE, as vice chairman and head of the buyer electronics division at SEA in September. Within the first half of the yr, the corporate recruited world-renowned industrial designer Mauro Porcini as chief design officer (president) of the Gadget eXperience (DX) division, and Sofia Hwang-Judiesch, former Tommy Hilfiger North America consultant, as vice chairman overseeing international retail technique. Chairman Lee ordered throughout a seminar for all executives in March that “we should domesticate and recruit prime expertise who’re higher than our administration crew, no matter nationality and gender.”
