ASUS CEO Jerry Shen will step down from role early next year as part of a "comprehensive corporate transformation" at the company. According to Engadget, ASUS will now be governed by a co-CEO structure that will be split between PC business head S.Y. Hsu and global customer service lead Samson Hu.
The company will also shift its priorities in the handset business to focus on "gamers and power users" following weak sales in the budget and mid-range segment. ASUS has been getting aggressive in the budget category in markets like India with the ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the recently announced M2, but it doesn't look like we'll see another model in the series even though ASUS maintains it will continue to develop the ZenFone brand.
In a statement, ASUS said:
With regard to the doubts raised by some on the continuation of the ZenFone brand, we confirm that we will continue to develop the ZenFone series, while also aiming to expand the gaming smartphone market. We will focus on perfecting solutions for gamers and power users.
ASUS is taking a $190 million hit over "loss of inventory, royalties, production costs and organizational adjustment expenses" as it shifts its mobile strategy. As for Shen, he'll be heading up an AIoT startup called iFast that delivers B2B solutions, with ASUS taking a 30% stake in the venture.
