WILSONVILLE, Ore.– InFocus Corp. is looking for a new leader after president and CEO Kyle Ranson suddenly left the troubled digital projector manufacturer Wednesday to pursue other interests.
Ranson also resigned from the board of directors effective immediately. Joseph O’Sullivan, currently the company’s vice-president of global operations and general manager for Asia sales, has been named acting COO with responsibility for day to day operations. The board has begun a search for a successor CEO.
“Kyle has worked hard to restructure the Company, leverage its core strengths and navigate a difficult industry transition over the last few years,” said Michael Hallman, lead independent director of InFocus. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to thank him and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Facing intense competition from Canon and Epson, last year InFocus lost $61.9 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) on $374.8 million in revenue, an improvement over the $79 million it lost in 2005. However, that year it had revenue of $532 million.
Earlier this month it announced that for the first quarter of this year it had a net loss of $13 million, compared to a loss of $16 million in the previous quarter. Although projector shipments were up 15 per cent over the four quarter, revenues were down seven per cent.
<pO'Sullivan joined the company in Sept. 2004 as vice-president of global supply chain management and moved into the COO post in mid-2006. Prior to InFocus, he worked at Apple Computer for 15 years in various executive positions with his final position being vice-president of Asia operations.In a statement the board said it continues to believe the company has numerous core strengths, including its leading brand position, large installed base, strong market share, and key relationships with suppliers and channel partners around the globe.