Microsoft is not the only company getting a new CEO today. Kobo today announced that founder and CEO Mike Serbinis, who has been in the role for four years, has stepped down and that Takahito “Taka” Aiki has replaced him effective immediately. According to the Financial Post, Serbinis will stay on as founder and vice chairman.
Aiki, who last headed up Rakuten’s Fusion Communications, a Japanese telecom company, will reportedly move to Toronto where Kobo has its headquarters.
According to a statement issued by Rakuten, Aiki said,
“I am thrilled to accept the role of CEO at Kobo. I am excited to be joining Kobo, one of Canada’s most prominent brands and a true innovator in eReading. The Kobo team is extremely talented and, working together, I look forward to driving Kobo’s leadership in eReading.”
The statement adds that, “Taka brings to the role a wealth of experience in building and growing successful projects and companies, and has built his career on achieving ambitious goals and forging strong teams.”
Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company, acquired Kobo back in 2011 for US$315 million. It has since continued to expand the company’s reach internationally. It now has more than 18 million users in 190 countries with a digital book library of more than 4 million titles in 68 languages. It offers a range of e-reading devices including dedicated e-ink readers such as the Kobo Aura eReader and Android tablets such the Kobo Arc 10HD and Kobo Arc 7HD.
Source : The Financial Post