Personal Communications Devices Announces New President and CEO

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Personal Communications Devices, LLC (PCD) (http://www.pcdphones.com), a leading provider of wireless devices to service providers in the Americas, Africa and the Pacific for more than 25 years, has elected George Appling as its new President and CEO. The selection of Mr. Appling, who brings 20 years of broad wireless industry experience, covering every aspect of PCD's business, provides PCD with a clear path into its next chapter in the wireless industry.

"George is the ideal person to take PCD into the future, focusing on the value-added services PCD provides like inventory management, forward and reverse logistics and product life cycle management and marketing," the PCD Board of Directors said in a statement.  "Our customers and manufacturing partners will continue to experience the exceptional level of service they have come to expect from PCD."

In his new role, Appling will lead PCD's existing team of longtime industry executives

• Joseph Cufari, Chief Marketing Officer
• James Daurio, Vice President, Sales - Western Region
• Louis Antoniou, Vice President, International Sales
• Jorge Garcia, Chief Operations Officer
• Ray Kunzmann, Chief Financial Officer
• Kostas Kastamonitis, Vice President, Product Management-Verizon   

"This team has played an integral role in PCD's success in recent years," added the Board in a statement. "We're proud of their accomplishments and ability to help lead the company.  Mr. Appling is joining a strong team and we are confident that under his leadership, the organization will continue to provide value to both our carrier and device manufacturer partners, while bringing to market the newest technologies to meet our customers' needs." 

Mr. Appling comes to PCD from Booz & Company where he has been a Partner since 2009. Prior to that, he was a Principal at Katzenbach Partners and had served as both President of Global Solutions and Chief Operating Officer of Brightstar Corp. While at Brightstar, Appling was responsible for the operation of more than 60 distribution centers, global IT, human resources, indirect procurement and the division that marketed device management and supply chain services to mobile operators and retailers. Earlier in his career, Mr. Appling was founder and President of Xelibri the fashion phone business unit of Siemens Mobile, and an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in its Houston, Moscow, and Munich offices.

"I'm excited to join PCD and continue the company's unique place in the wireless industry as the only company to provide the right devices to fill the right needs with the right features to sell at maximum volumes," said Mr. Appling. "I want to assure our customers and partners that they can continue to expect the same high level of attention from the same PCD professionals with whom they are accustomed to dealing. This transition will be seamless as we look forward to building on a legacy of service and innovation."

For almost 30 years, PCD has built its reputation on the knowledge, experience and consistency of its management team by providing end-to-end product lifecycle services and support to both device manufacturers and carriers. Under Mr. Appling's stewardship, PCD will continue to focus on its core array of services, including:

• Product planning
• Product Life Cycle Management
• Product testing and certification for carrier
• Go-to-market support
• Post-launch support
• Engineering support and trouble-shooting
• Merchandising, advertising and public relations support
• Product positioning
• Sales force training
• Product fulfillment

Personal Communications Devices, LLC (PCD), formerly known as Audiovox Communications until 2004 and then UTStarcom Personal Communications Division, has been a leader in the wireless industry since 1984. Relying on a unique business model, PCD works closely with strategic design and manufacturing partners in Japan, Korea and China to bring innovative products to all of the major wireless carriers throughout the world.

Mr. Appling succeeds former President and CEO Philip Christopher, who was with the company for 28 years and shepherded it through its transitions from Audiovox to UTStarcom to PCD. He joined Audiovox Corporation in 1970 and was instrumental in launching Audiovox Communications Corp. (ACC) in 1984, where he served as President and CEO. In 2000, ACC formed a joint venture with Toshiba and was then acquired by UTStarcom in 2004. With this acquisition, UTStarcom Personal Communications Division was formed where, as president and CEO, Mr. Christopher is credited with growing the division's revenues and profits to record levels. In July 2008, Mr. Christopher spearheaded a management buyout of UTStarcom Personal Communications Division and created Personal Communications Devices.

In the 28 years Mr. Christopher has been involved in the wireless industry, he has worked with every top carrier in North and South America including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile and carriers in Canada and Latin America. He is responsible for bringing many recognizable brand manufacturers to the Americas, including Toshiba, LG, HTC, Pantech, Casio and Sharp. Additionally, he has served on both the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of CTIA – The Wireless Association since 1999.

"We are grateful to Philip for his many years of service and stewardship and we wish him well in his future endeavors," added the PCD Board of Directors in a statement. "Under Philip's leadership, PCD revolutionized the way wireless products come to market. serving as a global gateway for technology and providing high-quality, reliable and versatile wireless communications devices around the world."

About PCD

PCD (www.PCDphones.com <http://www.pcdphones.com/>) is committed to bringing you the wireless world through innovative wireless devices and rich service offerings. PCD serves as a global gateway for technology partners, providing high-quality, reliable and versatile wireless communications devices including handsets, smartphones, messaging devices and wireless broadband modems to carriers throughout the Americas, Africa and the Pacific. PCD conducts product planning and development on CDMA, GSM/GPRS and HSDPA platforms, and provides technical testing quality control as well as marketing and warranty support for its carrier and technology partners, differentiating it from other wireless industry suppliers. PCD is based in Hauppauge, New York, and maintains operations and support facilities in Brea, California, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

SOURCE Personal Communications Devices, LLC