Gemstar Realigns Consumer Electronics, Licensing Group

Gemstar-TV Guide is centralizing sales, management, and marketing strategy for its consumer electronics and licensing group.

Lydie Levy, formerly managing director, Gemstar-TV Guide Europe, has been tapped as chief operating officer, worldwide, for the group.

Thomas Carson has been named president, TV Guide On Screen in North America. Carson comes from Thomson Corporation where he was most recently executive VP of the organization’s program office.

Akitaka Nishimura has been named president, Gemstar multimedia limited, with oversight of day-to-day operations of that business which provides interactive program guides and VCR+ technology to consumer electronics and mobile devices throughout the Japanese market.Nishimura joins from Panasonic where he served as general manager of the company’s digital AV networking promotion group. He succeeds Yuichi Okumura, who is retiring as president of Gemstar Multimedia Limited.

The three executives will report to Mike McKee, chief operating officer, Gemstar-TV Guide and president, Interactive Program Guides.

Simon Adams, deputy managing director, CE business in Europe, has been named to the newly created post of senior VP, marketing and sales, CE Worldwide, where he will be the key Gemstar-TV Guide liaison for CE companies worldwide. Adams will report to Lydie Levy, as will Erwin Lau, general manager of Gemstar Technology Development Limited in Hong Kong and Jean Francois Grasset, senior vice president, Technical and Operations.