Paris, France - Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced the creation of the Simplicity Advisory Board (SAB). Its aim is to provide additional outside perspective into how the Philips brand promise - Sense and Simplicity - can be applied to everything the company does within the healthcare, lifestyle and technology markets.
Mr. Andrea Ragnetti, Chief Marketing Officer and member of the Group Management Committee, will chair this new body. "The SAB is a clear demonstration of the actions we are taking to introduce simplicity into everything we do at Philips.We aim to use the collective expertise of the SAB to further drive creativity and thought leadership that will enable Philips to strengthen its position in healthcare, lifestyle and technology domains, as well as in new market sectors, such as personal health and wellness that might emerge over the next few years."
The SAB members are a group of top professionals from diverse backgrounds who are all driven by the essence of simplicity. Joining Andrea Ragnetti will be:
Sara Berman
Sara is recognized as being one of the most up-and-coming young fashion designers around at the moment with her collections selling in the UK, US, Scandinavia and Japan. Sara's approach to design is based around simplicity, but she acknowledges that simplicity is not always easy to achieve and her insights and creativity will be an interesting addition to the SAB.
Gary Chang
Gary is one of China's most prominent architects who is well known for his creative and innovative use of space. Throughout his career he has always put emphasis on creating simple yet practical lifestyle environments and this way of thinking will add a unique perspective to the project.
Peggy Fritzsche
Peggy is the current president of the Radiology Society of North America (RSNA). Peggy's work over the last 25 years in radiology has driven her to put more of an emphasis on attempting to simplify the patient experience in one of the most complex areas of healthcare, and this will provide the SAB with invaluable insight.
John Maeda
John is a professor at MIT and one of the leading industry commentators on simplicity in IT. Simplicity is a subject that John is passionate about, and his insight into the simplification of IT and business processes will prove to be of great benefit to Philips.
Ken Okuyama
Ken is creative director of Pininfarina Automotive and Transportation Design and is a professor at the Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena. Ken's ethos is based on designing cars to drivers' needs whilst still achieving a highly desirable, clean and simple look without sacrificing any functionality or quality.
The SAB will act as a think tank and sounding board for Philips providing counsel and guidance on a number of projects and issues across the entire healthcare, lifestyle and technology spectrum. It will work with Philips for a period of twelve months and will have formal meetings on a quarterly basis.
At the end of the year the members of the SAB will present their research and findings on their vision of simplicity and their recommendations on how Philips can better implement simplicity throughout the entire company. Following the brand positioning and advertising campaign launch in September the SAB is an important next step for Philips on its journey towards simplicity.
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