Samsung Australia appoints former Coles, Telstra leader

Samsung Electronics Australia has announced that Richard Fink will replace Prasad Gokhale as vice president of the IT and mobile division.

Fink's resumé included 13 years at Telstra, where he held several senior roles and was director of retail channel when he left in 2014. He was most recently Coles' head of store transformation, where part of his responsibilities involved "reshaping" the way the supermarket chain approach to business through its 780 stores.

Fink said: "I am pleased to be joining Samsung at such an exciting time for its IT and mobile business. With the advent of virtual reality, wearable technology and mobile payments, never before have mobile devices played a more central role in people’s lives. Samsung is at the very forefront of these innovations, which brings about huge opportunities for the business."

Samsung Australia president Harry Lee said: "Mr Fink has a track record of building success through business transformation. Today’s competitive smartphone market requires innovative thinking and I believe Richard’s depth of experience and leadership qualities will add another dimension to our business to deliver ongoing success."

Gokhale stepped down after almost three years in the role to "pursue new opportunities".

 "During his tenure, Prasad has led the launch of numerous flagship Samsung mobile products as well as new product categories and services such as wearables, virtual reality and mobile payments," said Lee.

"Prasad’s passion for consumers and strategic alliances with partners has seen Samsung continue to be a leader within Australia and ensures we are well positioned for the future. We appreciate Prasad’s dedication to Samsung and wish him every success in his future endeavours," said Lee.

Gokhale said that he joined Samsung to transform the mobile division. "We have overhauled the way we interact with our consumers; from our service and after-sales support, to marketing communication, and retail execution.

"The Galaxy S7 was the most successful launch of any Samsung Galaxy smartphone in Australia, achieving our highest market share. On this note, I feel that I have achieved the goals that I set when I accepted the position at Samsung Australia."

Recently Samsung lost IT veteran Michael Cefai who joined Mobilise IT as national sales director.