Tuesday, January 27, 2009

ASUS Said to Be Facing Internal Struggles for Power

Could lead to the creation of a new brand

Alleged internal struggels for power at ASUS could enable a new brand
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According to recent reports, ASUSTeK, one of the world's leading vendors of computer motherboards and portable computer systems, may be facing some internal struggles for power. The company's chairman, Mr. Johnny Shih, and Mr. Tung Tsu Hsien, the new boss at Pegatron, a breakaway OEM division of ASUSTeK, are reported to be going through some misunderstandings, the likes of which could lead to the creation of a new brand.

The news comes from a recent article on TweakTown, where a Taiwan-based magazine entitled “Business Today” is cited as being the source where a story on the internal power struggle undergoing at ASUSTeK has been published. According to the translated version (provided by TweakTown) of said article, Mr. Tung Tsu Hsien was forced to accept its current job, as the boss of the newly-founded Pegatron, consequently being eliminated from the ASUS board. Apparently, Mr. Tung Tsu Hsien was not pleased with the decision as he was more interested in the brand business, especially in the growing Chinese market.

The author of the lengthy article claims that Tung Tsu Hsien has brought along with him to Pegatron other people from the R&D and industrial design teams at ASUS, mainly due to the fact that he has won the hearts of the staff through its business practices.

According to the article, Tung Tsu Hsien decided to establish PEGA Design, made out of ASUS' Industrial Design Team, which joined Pegatron after the separation. From February 2009 onwards, the team will be working in the old ASUS building and will be allowed to take on designing contracts. Such contracts could materialize into some new notebook PCs, desktop and broadband modem designs. According to the writer of the article, the initial goal of the team, in Tung Tsu Hsien's perspective, is to test the market. Given a favorable response, the company could place orders from Pegatron for manufacturing, but that is yet to be confirmed.

The article ends by saying that, despite appearances of a “harmonious” ASUS split, the internal struggles at ASUS are pretty much real and that Mr. Johnny Shih may be facing more issues, in addition to the ongoing financial crisis.