Smith & Associates Restructures Its Asian Management Team

Members of Smith’s management at three of its major Asian sales offices take on new roles to foster growth in this vital market

(HOUSTON, TEXAS) April 14, 2016 – Smith & Associates, the largest independent distributor of electronic components, today announces the restructuring of the management in three of its key Asian sales offices. In July, the office managers of Smith’s Shanghai, Taiwan, and Shenzhen locations will take on leadership roles in new locations. This reorganization of leadership will offer new and dynamic business opportunities for the trading teams of these offices as their managers share the experience and regional expertise each has gathered over the years.

Alan Han, current General Manager of Smith & Associates’ Shanghai office, will be relocating to Smith’s Taiwan location to take on the role of General Manager there. He will be stepping into this role in place of Henry Wong, who will begin a new role as General Manager of Smith’s Shenzhen office.

In Shenzhen, Wong will work alongside Claudio Chan, who relocated from Hong Kong in March. Chan previously served as Smith’s PPV Team Manager for Asia and has now taken on the role of Assistant Trading Manager of the Shenzhen office under Wong. Together, Wong and Chan will place a focus on strengthening the office’s PPV sales and cost savings support for customers.

Gordon Qiu, who is currently General Manager of Smith’s Shenzhen office, will be returning to his hometown and taking on Alan Han’s current role as General Manager for the Shanghai office.

Beginning in February, these managers began training onsite in their new offices, working with their teams in order to establish the roles, responsibilities, and dynamics that will offer these offices renewed strength. The final transition will officially occur on July 4th, when Qiu, Wong, and Han will take on full leadership of their new trading teams.

“The experience and regional knowledge these managers will bring to their new offices will broaden training to our employees in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Taiwan and strengthen collaboration among our Asian offices as a whole,” said Choon Byun, Smith & Associates’ President, Asia-Pacific. “Even more vitally, this change will benefit customers with local support drawn from a unique combination of deep experience and new perspectives.”

“We look forward to seeing how these managers’ expertise will strengthen our key Asian offices as they continue to grow and succeed in this thriving market,” said Marc Barnhill, Chief Trading Officer of Smith & Associates.

About Smith & Associates

Founded in 1984, Smith & Associates is a global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components and a trusted provider of efficiency-enhancing supply chain services to electronics and high-tech manufacturers. Smith’s investment in advanced in-house labs, a highly trained professional team, and strategically located global support centers offers our partners complete sourcing and inventory management solutions.

A privately held company, Smith & Associates employs more than 400 people worldwide, with over $500 million in sales annually. Smith’s regional hubs in Houston, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam are ISO-certified. In addition, sales and purchasing offices are located in Austin, Silicon Valley, Guadalajara, New York, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Seoul, Taipei, Penang, and Bangalore. For more information, see http://www.smithweb.com/ or, to reach a Smith representative 24 hours a day, please call: 1.800.HOUSTON or +1 713.430.3000.

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For more information, contact:
Mark Bollinger
Smith & Associates, V.P. of Marketing
+1 713.430.3038
[email protected]