Taiwanese electronics maker HTC named Orange executive Yves Maitre as its new CEO, replacing Cher Wang effective immediately.

In a statement, HTC said Maitre joins from the role of EVP of consumer equipment and partnerships at Orange, overseeing the operator’s connected technology strategy and business.

He served at Orange for 14 years and his background includes deployment of consumer electronic brands and ownership of a portfolio of connected and mobile services. He was part of Orange’s innovation technology group, involved in developing disruptive revenue opportunities. Maitre is also renowned to be the first to negotiate deployment of Android smartphones in Europe.

“I am incredibly energised to grow the future of both 5G and extended reality (XR) alongside HTC employees, customers and investors,” Maitre said.

Wang, who served as CEO for four years, will continue as chairwoman of the HTC board, mainly focusing on future technologies.

“I set out to reinvent HTC as a complete ecosystem company and lay the foundations for the company to flourish across 5G and XR. So, now is the perfect time to hand over the stewardship of HTC to a strong leader to guide us on the next stage of our journey”, she said.

Maitre takes over HTC in a difficult time for the company.

It reported a slightly wider loss in the second quarter than the comparable 2018 period, as revenue continued to tumble. As smartphone sales have continuously taken a hit due to strong competition from other Asian-based vendors, HTC has added focus to a new business unit, Vive Enterprise Solutions, providing XR solutions for businesses.