Philips appoints a new leader for Australia and NZ

Press Information

September 1, 2014

Philips appoints a new leader for Australia and New Zealand

• Kevin Barrow appointed as Country Manager for Philips Australia and New Zealand

• Kevin will also lead as General Manager for Healthcare for Philips Australia and New Zealand

Sydney, Australia – Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced the appointment of Kevin Barrow as both Country Manager for Philips Australia and New Zealand, and General Manager for Philips Healthcare for Australia and New Zealand, effective 22 August 2014.

Kevin oversees the Philips businesses in Australia and New Zealand, leading a team of more than 700 employees. He is tasked with capitalising on societal trends and growth opportunities to further strengthen Philips’ market leadership and with building innovation through new business models as well as solutions and services.

In his combined role as country manager and general manager for healthcare, Kevin reports to Harjit Gill, Chief Executive Officer Philips ASEAN Pacific and to Arjen Radder, President Philips Healthcare Asia Pacific, respectively. He is based at Philips’ Australia and New Zealand corporate office in Sydney.

Chief Executive Officer of Philips ASEAN Pacific, Harjit Gill said, "Kevin is well - positioned to lead our team in Australia and New Zealand given his proven track record in growing businesses, building long term strategic partnerships and transforming business models. Bringing with him a vision for the future and a comprehensive understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges ahead, I am confident Kevin’s experiences will build on our successes and drive Philips’ ambition to bring meaningful innovations to the market.”

Kevin has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry across a broad range of business-to-business and business-to-consumer companies. He joins Philips from Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), a global medical technology firm where he was the Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand since 2006. Prior to this, he held several senior sales and marketing management roles at pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly Australia.

He holds an MBA from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Sydney, Australia and has a Master of Science (Hons) from the Waikato University, Hamilton, New Zealand.

“I’m pleased to join Philips at this important time in the company’s transformation as it focuses on solving complex challenges through meaningful innovations which address people’s needs. I look forward to the opportunity to lead a dynamic team, partnering and collaborating with stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Only through these collaborations can we seize the opportunities and confront the challenges that face our society today and tomorrow,” said Kevin.

In his healthcare portfolio, Kevin will spearhead Philips’ efforts to address top societal challenges in Australia and New Zealand, such as the fact that more than seven million, or one in four Australians, are affected by chronic health conditions[1] or that impaired alertness contributes to serious workplace and road crash injuries in Australia, costing the health system $5 billion dollars each year[2]. These circumstances strain existing healthcare infrastructure and increase the need to use scarce health care resources more efficiently. Philips is working with a broad coalition of industry and government stakeholders through several research initiatives to help Australia’s healthcare system include different models of care.

[1] Altman L, Fernando S, Holt S, Maeder A, Margelis G, Morgan G: “One in Four Lives – The Future of Telehealth in Australia”, AIIA, Sydney, March 2014 http://www.aiia.com.au/

[2] Williams, A., Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Alertness, Safety and Productivity, 15th Selection Round Briefing Document, Application number 20120027

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