Thursday, January 18, 2007
Eindhoven, the Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics announced the appointment today of Dr. Peter Wierenga as new Chief Executive Officer of Philips Research. In this function he will succeed Dr. Rick Harwig, who has managed Philips Research since 2004. Dr. Harwig will concentrate on his existing role as Chief Technology Officer of Royal Philips Electronics, Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Technologies and Member of the Group Management Committee.
Since joining Philips in 1980, Dr. Wierenga has held several positions in Research and Development. As CEO of Philips Research he will be responsible for the worldwide research activities in Philips. Dr. Wierenga: “Over the last years, Philips Research has developed from a closed scientific institute towards an organization that has a focus on new business development in an atmosphere of open innovation. My focus will be on combining our research strengths in the regions where we are active: Europe, the US and Asia. Our global reach, combined with our people-centric research approach, is going to lead to more innovations excelling in their delivery of Sense and Simplicity.”
Knowing what customers want
In order to understand what the end-user needs and how markets may respond to new innovations, research in Philips involves business customers and end-users at a very early stage. Its HomeLab facility has been successfully helping Philips to understand how people deal with new technologies in a home setting since 2002. HomeLab has recently been extended with two new laboratories: CareLab and ShopLab. Signalling the uniqueness of its people-centric approach, these three laboratories together are now called ExperienceLab.
Innovative breakthroughs
Philips Research is one of the world's major industrial research establishments focusing its efforts on turning innovation into profitable growth. Dr. Wierenga states: “Solid State Lighting is the enabler of atmosphere creation in addition to functional lighting. We are researching new control technologies to enable professionals and consumers to create virtually any color from a single light source in an easy and intuitive way.
With our breakthrough technologies we also focus on healthcare related developments and aim to address all points in the care cycle being diagnosis, treatment and follow up processes. The advancement of molecular healthcare, for example, promises to revolutionize today’s healthcare practices by leading to earlier detection of health problems increasing the likelihood of treatment success and minimizing the severity or duration of an illness.”
For further information please contact:
Ellen de Vries
Communications manager
Philips Research
Tel +31 40 2742321
email ellen.de.vries@philips.com
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and technology, delivering products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 126,000 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 30.4 billion in 2005, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
|