Toshiba Restructures in USToshiba Restructures in US

IRVINE, Calif. -- Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS) will restructure the company to increase focus on the mobility market. In the restructure, effective Oct. 1, TAIS will be divided into three main business divisions: Digital Products Division, which will focus on individual product sales; Digital Solutions Division, which will focus on system and mobility solution sales; and Storage Device Division, which is a current division in TAIS in the storage component business that remains essentially unchanged. A fourth organization, TAIS Operations, will consolidate logistics, supply chain management, technical support and engineering functions for the entire company.

"The mobility market is our target," said Hidejiro Shimomitsu, president of TAIS, "but that market cannot be totally addressed from a sales and marketing perspective by traditional product divisions. The mobile person is in the office, home or traveling, and needs both mobile data and voice. Our intent is to create an organizational structure that strengthens our position in segments of the mobility market where we are already strong, such as notebook PCs, while accelerating our entry into new segments of the market which require more complex solutions."

In this restructure, the Digital Products Division creates a streamlined organization that can focus on high-volume movement of individual products such as notebook PCs, PDAs, and projectors through multiple channel structures, while the Digital Solutions Division unites system components from the computer, imaging systems, telecommunications and network products businesses in TAIS.

Mark Simons, current VP/GM of Transaction Sales in the current Computer Systems Division, will head the new Digital Products Division, and Mike Durance, current VP/GM of the Telecommunications Systems Division, will head the Digital Solutions Division. Scott Maccabe remains as VP/GM of the Storage Device Division. Gary Weaver, current Senior VP of the Computer Systems Group, will head TAIS Operations.

Toshiba Corp.