BRIGHTSTAR APPOINTS GEORGE APPLING AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
MIAMI –July 5, 2006 – Brightstar Corp., the largest global wireless distribution and supply chain management company in the world, announced the appointment of George Appling as chief operating officer.
As COO of the $2.25 billion company, Appling will oversee the corporation’s global operations which include over 40 sales and distribution facilities worldwide, 3 manufacturing plants and a recent acquisition that includes 8 retail points of sale.
Additionally, Appling will apply his expertise in supply chain management to Brightstar, furthering the company’s focus on building customer-driven business solutions such as supply chain outsourcing for mobile network operators.
Appling most recently served as a principal at Katzenbach Partners where he headed the consulting organization’s Global Telecom Practice. Prior to this role, Appling was chief strategy officer for Siemens Mobile in Munich, responsible for global strategy for the $12 billion organization. During his tenure at Siemens, Appling founded and served as chief executive officer of Xelibri, a business unit of Siemens Mobile Phones that designed and manufactured a line of fashion phones sold in Europe and Asia. He started his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company where he worked in the Houston, Moscow, and Munich offices.
Appling has dual bachelor’s degrees in both business and political science from Texas A&M, where he graduated first in his class. He went on to earn both an MBA from the Harvard Business School and masters in public administration (MPA) from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
According to R. Marcelo Claure, president & CEO, “George’s leadership and expertise will ensure we reach our vision of becoming a world-class supply chain management organization, increasing our customer value and streamlining our own operational processes worldwide.”
Through this appointment, Appling is also named an officer of the corporation, serving on the board of directors with the senior leadership team including R. Marcelo Claure, CEO; Oscar Fumagali, CFO and Denise Gibson, CEO and president of Brightstar’s US business unit and a corporate officer.
Claure said, “We have an exceptional leadership team in place and strong, strategic focus on our growth plan.”
Brightstar, with $2.25 billion in revenue in 2005, is the largest wireless supply chain and distribution services company in the world. The company expects to achieve $3 billion in sales in 2006.
About Brightstar
Brightstar Corp. is the largest wireless distributor and supply chain solutions provider in the world. Headquartered in Miami, FL, Brightstar has facilities in over 30 countries, serving customers on six continents. The company provides solutions to over 220 network operators and 25,000 MVNOs, resellers, retailers and agents around the world and also represents many of the world’s leading wireless manufacturers. In 2005, Brightstar exceeded $2.25 billion in revenue. For more information, visit http://www.brightstarcorp.com .
Contact:
Sally Lange
VP, Marketing
Brightstar
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305-421-6000