Carl Yankowski
Encyclopedia
Carl J. Yankowski is a CEO who has held senior positions at Polaroid, Pepsi, GE, Sony
Electronics, Reebok
, and Palm, Inc.
. Besides consulting, he most recently was CEO of Ambient Devices.
Yankowski attended high school in Butler, Pennsylvania
, graduating in 1966. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, gaining simultaneous degrees in electrical engineering and management (from the MIT Sloan School of Management
), and taking a humanities minor in Art History at Wellesley College (one of the first men to attend).
Upon graduation he worked as a systems analyst
for Procter & Gamble
but discovered that he enjoyed leveraging both marketing and technology. He developed new products and promotional campaigns for Pringles
and Duncan Hines
mixes. He then moved to Memorex
where he helped develop the first high-performance cassette tapes, and with Ella Fitzgerald worked on the "Is It Live Or Is It Memorex" campaign before joining Pepsi, expanding Mountain Dew, launching 2 L plastic bottles and back-lit vending machines, and working on the three-year Pepsi Challenge
campaign for PepsiCo
, beating Coke in market share for the first consistent time.
At General Electric
, he helped develop the Spacemaker range with its "We Bring Good Things to Life" campaign. Then he worked in the U.S. and London as divisional CEO of Cadbury Schweppes, focused on new soft drink delivery systems.
Yankowski joined Polaroid Corporation
in 1988 as a corporate vice president with initial responsibility for all business imaging, U.S. consumer and industrial marketing before moving to Hong Kong
as group vice president for the corporation's Asia/Pacific region. He then returned to the United States to become the president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics
in November 1993, almost doubling the U.S. businesses by $5 billion, and launching PlayStation, VAIO, CDMA phones, and DVD, as well as Direct TV, Web TV, and others. Yankowski left Sony in January 1998 "to address immediate family health issues" (his father was dying). He became president and chief executive officer of Reebok Brand in September 1998, initiating cost-cutting and a turnaround, as well as a re-focus on women and fitness.
Yankowski joined 3Com
to head its Palm division on 13 December 1999. In his first year at Palm, he became chief executive officer, transforming the division of 3Com into a public company with a billion-dollar+ IPO and market capitalization of US$
30 billion.
Yankowski gained notoriety for his appearance on a CNBC interview on the day of the Palm IPO, during which he wore a bespoke suit embroidered with gold pinstripes. Profitable revenue increased five consecutive quarters to over $1 billion as the dot-com bubble collapsed. He left Palm on 8 November 2001 when the OS Group was spun out by the board (leaving Palm a commodity hardware player), and most technology companies were caught up in the dot-com crash, and set up a management consultancy under the name 'Westerham Group'. He led Majesco (a gaming company) for a ten-month period until he discovered the recent sales forecasts for Psychonauts and Advent Rising were dramatically missed in this essentially family-owned business. From June 2001 until February 2003 he was a director of Novell
and Chairman of the Board for CRF Health, then a start-up company focusing on electronic patient diaries for clinical trials. Since July 2003 he has been a non-executive director of Informatica Corporation and Chase Corporation
.
He took up positions on the boards of Boston College
and MIT Sloan business schools and several technology and consumer product-oriented companies. Most recently, in 2007, Yankowski was appointed CEO of Ambient Devices
, a very small consumer electronics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, raising funding, developing more contemporary new products, distribution, and marketing. With limited working capital and no cost-downs in the economic recession, and future orders outstripping available cash, he finished his work at Ambient, and was asked to consult for the board. Yankowski is a board member of flat-panel color display pioneer Uni-Pixel, Inc. (UNXL), which has developed a potentially more efficient display method called TMOS, as well as non-fingerprint films, and unique embossing technology for touch screens and similar applications. He also represented Intel Capital on the board of Telligent in Dallas, a leading corporate social networking and analytics company.
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
Electronics, Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
, and Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., was a smartphone manufacturer headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that was responsible for products such as the Pre and Pixi as well as the Treo and Centro smartphones. Previous product lines include the PalmPilot, Palm III, Palm V, Palm VII, Zire and Tungsten. While their older...
. Besides consulting, he most recently was CEO of Ambient Devices.
Yankowski attended high school in Butler, Pennsylvania
Butler, Pennsylvania
The city of Butler is the county seat of Butler County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated north of Pittsburgh. The population was 15,121 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, graduating in 1966. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, gaining simultaneous degrees in electrical engineering and management (from the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
), and taking a humanities minor in Art History at Wellesley College (one of the first men to attend).
Upon graduation he worked as a systems analyst
Systems analyst
A systems analyst researches problems, plans solutions, recommends software and systems, and coordinates development to meet business or other requirements. They will be familiar with multiple variety of programming languages, operating systems, and computer hardware platforms...
for Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
but discovered that he enjoyed leveraging both marketing and technology. He developed new products and promotional campaigns for Pringles
Pringles
Pringles is a brand of potato and wheat based snacks originally developed by Procter & Gamble. Pringles are sold in more than 140 countries and have yearly sales of more than...
and Duncan Hines
Duncan Hines
Duncan Hines was an American pioneer of restaurant ratings for travelers. He is best known today for the brand of food products that bears his name.-History:...
mixes. He then moved to Memorex
Memorex
Memorex began as a computer tape producer and expanded to become a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It is now a consumer electronics brand of Imation specializing in disk recordable media for CD and DVD drives, flash memory, computer accessories and other electronics.Established in...
where he helped develop the first high-performance cassette tapes, and with Ella Fitzgerald worked on the "Is It Live Or Is It Memorex" campaign before joining Pepsi, expanding Mountain Dew, launching 2 L plastic bottles and back-lit vending machines, and working on the three-year Pepsi Challenge
Pepsi Challenge
The Pepsi Challenge has been an ongoing marketing promotion run by PepsiCo since 1975. It is also the name of a cross country ski race at Giant's Ridge Ski Area in Biwabik, Minnesota, an event sponsored by Pepsi.-Method:...
campaign for PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, beating Coke in market share for the first consistent time.
At General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, he helped develop the Spacemaker range with its "We Bring Good Things to Life" campaign. Then he worked in the U.S. and London as divisional CEO of Cadbury Schweppes, focused on new soft drink delivery systems.
Yankowski joined Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation is an American-based international consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February...
in 1988 as a corporate vice president with initial responsibility for all business imaging, U.S. consumer and industrial marketing before moving to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
as group vice president for the corporation's Asia/Pacific region. He then returned to the United States to become the president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics
Sony Electronics
Sony Electronics Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is the largest component of Sony Corporation of America, the U.S. holding company for Sony's U.S.-based electronics and entertainment businesses.-External links:***...
in November 1993, almost doubling the U.S. businesses by $5 billion, and launching PlayStation, VAIO, CDMA phones, and DVD, as well as Direct TV, Web TV, and others. Yankowski left Sony in January 1998 "to address immediate family health issues" (his father was dying). He became president and chief executive officer of Reebok Brand in September 1998, initiating cost-cutting and a turnaround, as well as a re-focus on women and fitness.
Yankowski joined 3Com
3Com
3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
to head its Palm division on 13 December 1999. In his first year at Palm, he became chief executive officer, transforming the division of 3Com into a public company with a billion-dollar+ IPO and market capitalization of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
30 billion.
Yankowski gained notoriety for his appearance on a CNBC interview on the day of the Palm IPO, during which he wore a bespoke suit embroidered with gold pinstripes. Profitable revenue increased five consecutive quarters to over $1 billion as the dot-com bubble collapsed. He left Palm on 8 November 2001 when the OS Group was spun out by the board (leaving Palm a commodity hardware player), and most technology companies were caught up in the dot-com crash, and set up a management consultancy under the name 'Westerham Group'. He led Majesco (a gaming company) for a ten-month period until he discovered the recent sales forecasts for Psychonauts and Advent Rising were dramatically missed in this essentially family-owned business. From June 2001 until February 2003 he was a director of Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
and Chairman of the Board for CRF Health, then a start-up company focusing on electronic patient diaries for clinical trials. Since July 2003 he has been a non-executive director of Informatica Corporation and Chase Corporation
Chase Corporation
Chase Corporation was a property development company in New Zealand that flourished in the 1980s, became devalued in the 1987 New Zealand stock market collapse, and is now defunct.-History:...
.
He took up positions on the boards of Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
and MIT Sloan business schools and several technology and consumer product-oriented companies. Most recently, in 2007, Yankowski was appointed CEO of Ambient Devices
Ambient Devices
Ambient Devices, Inc. is a privately held company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA that designs and markets various ambient devices for display of information ranging from weather to traffic reports to stock quotes. The company was founded by David L. Rose, Ben Resner, and Pritesh Gandhi,...
, a very small consumer electronics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, raising funding, developing more contemporary new products, distribution, and marketing. With limited working capital and no cost-downs in the economic recession, and future orders outstripping available cash, he finished his work at Ambient, and was asked to consult for the board. Yankowski is a board member of flat-panel color display pioneer Uni-Pixel, Inc. (UNXL), which has developed a potentially more efficient display method called TMOS, as well as non-fingerprint films, and unique embossing technology for touch screens and similar applications. He also represented Intel Capital on the board of Telligent in Dallas, a leading corporate social networking and analytics company.