Round Rock, Tx., USA - December 9, 2010, Round Rock, Tx., USA - Dell announced that Gerard Kleisterlee has been appointed to the company's board of directors, effective immediately.
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Mr. Kleisterlee has been president and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics since April 2001 and a member of the Group Management Committee since January 1999. He joined Philips' Medical Systems division in 1974, where he held a number of positions in manufacturing management.
From 1981 to 1986 Mr. Kleisterlee was the General Manager of Philips' Professional Audio Product Group. He joined Philips Components in 1986 and was appointed Managing Director of Philips Display Components worldwide in 1994. He became President of Philips Taiwan and Regional Manager for Philips Components in Asia-Pacific in 1996.
From September 1997 to June 1998 Mr. Kleisterlee was also responsible for all activities of the Philips Group in China. He returned to Europe in 1999 as CEO of Philips' Components division. He was appointed chief operation officer of Philips in September 2000 before assuming his current role the following year.
Mr. Kleisterlee attended Eindhoven Technical University in the Netherlands and holds a degree in Electronic Engineering. He received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium in 2005.
Among his memberships, Mr. Kleisterlee has served as a member of the Asia Business Council and the Dutch Innovation Platform, which was chaired by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
The company also announced that Alex Mandl, a board member since 1997, has been named independent presiding director of the board, replacing Samuel A. Nunn, Jr. .
Mr. Mandl is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Gemalto, a company resulting from the merger of Axalto Holding N.V. and Gemplus International S.A. From June 2006 until December 2007, Mr. Mandl served as executive chairman of Gemalto.
Before June 2006, Mr. Mandl was president, chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of the board of directors of Gemplus, positions he held since August 2002. He has served as principal of ASM Investments, a company focusing on early stage funding in the technology sector since April 2001.
From 1996 to March 2001, Mr. Mandl was chairman and CEO of Teligent, Inc., which offered business customers an alternative to the Bell Companies for local, long distance and data communication services. Mr. Mandl was AT&T's president and chief operating officer from 1994 to 1996, and its executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1991 to 1993.
From 1988 to 1991, Mr. Mandl was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Sea-Land Service, Inc. Mr. Mandl is a board member of Hewitt Associates, Inc., Horizon Lines and Visteon Corporation.
Mr. Nunn is scheduled to retire from the board in July 2011. He is co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Mr. Nunn was a senior partner at the law firm of King & Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia, from 1997 until 2003. From 1972 through 1996, he served as a United States senator from Georgia. During his tenure as senator, he served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ■