
Cherry has appointed a new boss for its restructured Peripherals business, with a new plan for pan-European distribution.
Alexander Hecker will assume the position of Senior Vice President Global Peripherals on February 2nd after Thierry Ondet, who was originally scheduled to take up the position this month was unable to take up the position for personal reasons.
Hecker will also join the Cherry SE management team as Managing Director of Cherry S.A.R.L. and CHERRY Americas LLC.
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The Peripherals business bundles the sales and marketing of products such as keyboard switches, keyboards, mice and other input devices from the gaming, office, hygiene and security sectors for a standard approach in sales channels to drive organic growth. Hecker’s track record includes establishing the Sonos brand as well as working at Eora, Microsoft and Sony.
Cherry has its operational headquarters in Auerbach in Germany’s Upper Palatinate region and over 400 employees in production facilities in Auerbach, Zhuhai in China and Vienna in Austria.
As part of the role, Hecker is to launch a new partner programme for the peripherals business to establish a sustainable distributor and retailer network for Europe. Particular priority will be given to bundling and strengthening sales activities in key markets such as Benelux, Iberia, France, the UK, the Nordics, Poland and German-speaking countries. Collaboration with Cherry Americas and Cherry APAC will strengthen synergies and support the growth of the overall CHERRY brand internationally as well as Cherry Peripherals.
“I’m really looking forward to my new role at Cherry. It feels like coming home to a familiar and dynamic industry, combined with the reunion of old companions and the exciting prospect of shaping new partnerships. Cherry has enormous potential and the market needs another strong player. I would like to thank the Management Board and Supervisory Board for the trust they have placed in me and I am looking forward to getting started. It is a great incentive for me to work with the entire team to further develop the business and take it to the next level,” said Hecker.
“In addition to Microsoft and Sony, his success with SONOS is particularly noteworthy. Hecker joins at the right time, as we are in the early stages of reorganizing our business plans for peripherals. At the same time, on behalf of Cherry, I would like to express our regret that Thierry Ondet will not be able to take up his position for understandable personal reasons. We will remain in close contact and wish him all the best for 2025, both professionally and personally,” said Oliver Kaltner, CEO of Cherry SE.
