"At least" five high-ranking executives from Samsung Telecommunications America have left or handed in their notice in the past two months, according to a report from CNET. The list of departing execs covers some individuals who were public faces for Samsung in addition to their strategic roles within the company, as well as those involved with some key mobile products and sales efforts.
Those named include Seshu Madhavapeddy, SVP of product, Nanda Ramachandran, VP and general manager, Mike Pennington, VP of sales operations and head of national sales, Ketrina Dunagan, VP of retail and channel marketing, and Donna Cerny, director of human resources.
The report of high-level departures comes as a second patent trial plays out in a California court between Samsung and arch-rival Apple, and as the company prepares to launch its flagship smartphone for 2014, the Galaxy S5. Last summer Samsung named Gregory Lee the new president of STA, replacing Dale Sohn, who became an executive adviser to CEO JK Shin at the company's Korean HQ.
Late last year STA product chief Kevin Packingham also left the company. CNET reports that Packingham departed as his job became more sales-focused following Samsung's push behind one major Galaxy S device instead of multiple customized models for U.S. carriers.
"As our US business continues to diversify and expand, we will continue to build an industry leading organization with people who will contribute to even greater success for Samsung," Samsung said in a statement. "Some have left voluntarily to pursue other opportunities, and we thank them for their service."
Source: CNET
Reader comments
Five Samsung Mobile US execs leave company, reports CNET
It's all about consolidation.
New products are doing more things than ever before. Positions that managed multiple products for different purposes are being consolidated.
This is just one of the reasons.
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Apple probably hired them to get insider secrets.
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But the REAL question should be.... where did they go? Daily people of any caliber leave companies, this is a given, to understand where they went might provide a better picture.
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They all left to spend more time with their families, of course.
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If that is true then they have my respect. Family Time > Work
They failed to put carrier logo on the S5 home button. Verizon got mad and they wanted these people gone if they wanted their support pushing sales.
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And in other news, the sky is blue and the clouds are white.
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But sometimes the sky is black and clouds are dark grey.
5 people left in a massive company... no big deal, everybody can be replaced. Besides, all the decisions comes from the headquarter in Korea.
Making room for T-Mobile execs
This happens in the corprate world all the time ...it is what it is.
Looks like they have some job openings. Time to polish up the ole resume and send it on over.
Why would this chase someone from HR? To much paper work?
Sounds like an internal problem with the current management. Must not be a friendly environment right now.
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Who cares, they think the grass greener on the other side.
STA is just sales and marketing to the US carriers . Anyone leaving doesn't have a direct impact on the product coming out of Korea . Companies that are hiring based on thinking they are getting some golden nugget of galaxy s6 information will be disappointed . Everything comes out of Korea !!
Probably frustrated by the lacking quality in their product as they seek to maximize gains, we'll see if the S5 is as bad as the S4 in this department, maybe those frustrations are justified.
Or maybe they are just frustrated by irrational fanboys of other manufacturers. You know, the ones making statements that have nothing to do with a story, just to bash a competitor.
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Yea, the Sammy hating does get a little tiresome. The S4 was a fine phone....but it was plastic. So despite the fact that everybody loves the just a plastic Nexus 5, Samsung must be bashed for making "cheaply made" phones. HTC makes great phones, let them stand on their own strengths, stop bashing others. Sigh.
If HTC could make a quality camera they may be on to something
I agree mkcoastie. I like much of the New One. Just a couple deal breakers for my tastes. I like the competition right now.
Consumers benefit
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95% of mobile phones are made of plastic materials. Plastic does not intefere with radio signals. (cellular, GPS, wifi, etc.)
Pretty sure they don't read blogs and couldn't care less what fan boys say. Decisions are based on marketing statistics and research.
I'm also leaning towards some major disagreement. Could be stagnant design (majority/higher ranks prevailed) or the Apple case.
Calling me an irrational fanboy?
Let's see here:
I own a: Note 2, Note 3, S4, Note 7, Samsung Series 7 Chronos laptop, Samsung UN55ES6500 smart TV with Samsung F-450 soundbar, 2 Samsung Monitors (one 24 inch and one 27 inch), Samsung Dishwasher, Samsung Microwave, Samsung video camera......
This guy is worse than Richard Yarrell and needs to be slap a couple times.
I was referring to the rev. I have had Samsung phones since the GS2. Its ok to prefer a certain manufacturer, like you do, like I do......but when some go out of their way to hate on other manufacturers. Thats just silly and a waste.
In reality, many maufacturers are making quality products worth owning for some. Still have not seen the one I want to replace my Note 2.
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Exactly people trying to convince others on here that their preferred oem is better then others by bashing is just stupid isn't the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say keep it to yourself"? Why do people feel the need to come on here and bash on Samsung unless they are trying purposely to start an argument.
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GAINZ!
plastic" and "faux"
http://sm-phone.blogspot.com/
Something must be off, internally, if that many high ranking executives have left, in just a month's time.
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I think all the "plastic" and "faux" finally got to them.
Faux real! I'm not kidding.
^^^These are such stupid comments! ^^^
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