E Ink Holdings has been developing e-paper displays since 2009, which are found in most modern electronic readers. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Sony all feature the high-resolution displays in their current generation lineups. Recently, CEO of E Ink Scott Liu has resigned as the Chairman and CEO of E Ink and Vice Chairman Felix Ho has been named interim Chairman and CEO. With the shift in management and declining revenues, what does the future of E Ink hold?
We caught up with the head of research and development Giovanni Mancini about what exactly is going on with the company. Whenever there is a shift in the top levels of management, it is often an indication that things are about to be shaken up.
Do you know why Scott left E Ink?
As announced in the company’s press release, Scott Liu had led E Ink for many years, and he made a personal decision to step down as the Chairman and CEO of E Ink Holdings that is not related to the direct running of the company. Thus, E Ink would like to respect his privacy. Scott will continue to act as an executive advisor. E Ink is fortunate that Vice Chairman Felix Ho has become the interim chairman and CEO of E Ink Holdings. Felix has extensive experience in the display and EPD industry, and with E Ink technology.
Is E Ink refocusing its strategies from e-readers to watches, price tags, and keyboards and other things?
E Ink absolutely remains committed to e-readers, as e-readers continue to be a very large and significant market for the company. Â E Ink is expanding its strategy to include other products such as ESL (price tags) and watches. E Ink technology is ideal for many consumer and industrial applications, and E Ink is very excited to be working with designers across multiple industries on some innovative new products, including many in the e-reader space.
It seems E Ink has been on the decline the last few quarters, and it seems to me a management shakeup was needed to bring the company in a new direction. Are you privy to any of this?
The change in management was totally due to personal reasons, it does not signal a redirection of the company.
Are you aware of anything new and exciting happening at E Ink?
E Ink is constantly working on many new and exciting products. The company is presently working on a schedule for products announcements, and it expects to announce some in the near future.
Do you know how marketing is going on with Triton 2, or if any other mainstream vendors have expressed interest in it?
Per your conversation with E Ink during CES, the company continues to market its Triton 2 product and expects to start shipping to customers in June of 2013.
Is E Ink interested in acquiring Liquavista?
As a matter of policy E Ink does not comment on such inquiries.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
