Royal Philips  announced the appointment of Andy Ho as Chief Executive Officer for Greater China per November 2, 2015, succeeding Patrick Kung, who will retire on December 31, 2015. To ensure a seamless transition, Mr. Ho will join Philips on August 3, 2015, as Executive Vice President, Royal Philips, reporting to Philips CEO Frans van Houten. Mr. Ho joins Philips from IBM Corp., where he has held a wide range of sales, technology and senior management roles across Greater China, Canada and the United States in a career spanning over 30 years. His latest roles at IBM were General Manager for Greater China North and, subsequently, General Manager Technology Partnership and Strategic Alliances for Greater China.

Philips appoints Andy Ho as the new CEO for Greater China region. (Philips/LEDinside)

“I am delighted that Ho is joining us to lead our business in Greater China, our second-largest market globally,” said Philips CEO Frans van Houten. “Ho’s track record in delivering business growth is impressive. He will bring deep expertise in systems integration, services and strategic alliance-building, which is key to our ability to capture the HealthTech opportunity. In addition, Andy’s knowledge of the Greater China market, coupled with his extensive network, will be essential to further build our presence in the region.”

“I am grateful to Patrick for his numerous and significant contributions to Philips,” said Van Houten. “Patrick has led a complete transformation of our business in Greater China, rapidly building out our business and steering it through challenging times. He has also been an extremely valuable Executive Committee colleague, bringing his considerable knowledge on speed and agility to the table, which are key to being successful in China – and cornerstones of our Accelerate! transformation program.”

Patrick Kung, born in 1951, joined Philips in February 2008 and he assumed the role as CEO Greater China in October that year. Under his leadership, Philips in China expanded its innovation, manufacturing and commercial footprint and the country became the second-largest market globally for the company and one of the nation’s most admired brands. As of July 2011, Mr. Kung became a member of Philips’ Executive Committee.

Andy Ho, born in 1961, joins Philips from IBM. He has worked for more than 30 years in many roles across China, United States, Hong Kong and Canada. Mr. Ho held the position of General Manager for Greater China North. He later directed IBM’s global and local resources to strike technology partnerships and key alliances with government entities and major enterprises in China. Mr. Ho holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

“I am very excited to be joining Philips at such a pivotal time and I look forward to working with Patrick and his team as I transition into the CEO role,” said Mr. Ho. “With its long history, strong brand presence and focus on the HealthTech market, I believe that Philips is uniquely positioned and am convinced that we will be able to build out our growth strategy to capture existing and new opportunities.”