Philips changes CEO in a difficult context

Philips has appointed a new CEO. In mid-October, Roy Jakobs should take over as head of the Dutch group specializing in household appliances and medical equipment. He succeeds Frans van Houten, who spent nearly 12 years at the helm of the group and transformed the company from an industrial conglomerate into a provider of medical technology. Van Houten will support the management change in an advisory capacity until the end of April 2023, Philips said in a statement.

Roy Jakobs has worked for Philips for 12 years. He joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer and currently serves as Chief Business Leader Connected Care. The designated CEO was therefore recently responsible for crisis management in the context of the recall of defective respiratory devices from the subsidiary Respironics.

Device recall weighs on bottom line and reputation

The millions of devices recalled weigh on the reputation and the commercial results of the group. Since the revelation of the scandal, the valuation of Philips has fallen by more than half, reports the news agency Archyde.com. The recall concerns respirators for domestic use, used in particular once morest sleep apnea. The problem: particles might detach from the foam inside these devices, which, if inhaled, might cause nausea, asthma and, in the worst case, cancer. The US health authority FDA has so far recorded a total of 168 deaths related to the use of these products.

Philips recalled the devices in early summer 2021 in the United States, but in the rest of the world the manufacturer only issued a safety advisory. In Switzerland, we have started to exchange the affected devices free of charge. The complete replacement of defective devices should take place by the third quarter of 2022, as the Philips press service reported on German-speaking television in January.