Philips appoints Roy Jakobs as President and CEO for the Middle East and Turkey

Royal Philips Electronics announced Roy Jakobs as its new President and Chief Executive Officer effective from the first Quarter of 2012 - to lead the company towards accelerated growth in the Middle East and Turkey (MET) areas.

Philips aims to strengthen the regional focus by supporting the governments, communities and private sectors through its meaningful innovations for a healthier and more sustainable ME&T. Through the appointment of Mr. Jakobs, Philips underlines this ambition.

“With Philips’ expertise and innovations, we want to support the governments and private sectors in tackling the different regional challenges. When it comes to healthcare, we want to make sure that we help improve patient outcomes while lowering the burden on the healthcare system”, says Roy Jakobs.“Philips does not only provide tangible products, but also supports with innovative financial solutions, preventative screening programs and other services like continuous clinical application education and trainings for medical professionals, which is also one of the focuses of government spending. Last year, almost 200 healthcare professionals were trained in our Customer Education Centers in the region”.

“Philips also plays a big role in the reduction of energy and carbon footprint”, he adds. “Today, approximately 22% of the electricity used in the Middle East is spent on lighting, which is a higher rate compared to the rest of the world. With LED technology quickly set to become the industry norm, Philips has the insights and capabilities to make a significant difference in driving down energy consumption, while enhancing life with light, through its innovations as the world’s largest lighting provider”.

Roy Jakobs first joined Philips in 2010, based in Eindhoven - The Netherlands, as Lighting’s Chief Marketing Officer, a role in which he held responsibility for global marketing of lighting solutions, in the fast changing lighting industry. This role focused especially on driving leadership in LED Lighting and capturing the opportunities of the lighting industry transformation.

Prior to Philips, Mr. Jakobs has worked across several different industries such as Oil, Media and Publishing, in multiple countries and various executive roles globally.