Imagination appoints industry veteran to lead its expanding China operations

General Manager James Liu to drive next phase of company’s growth in strategically important region

LONDON, UK – 22 July, 2015– Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) announces the appointment of industry veteran James Liu as general manager for its expanding China operations. Imagination created this new role to strengthen its senior management team and engage more deeply with customers and partners in the region. Mr. Liu brings to Imagination 20+ years of experience in the China electronics design industry.

This appointment builds on Imagination’s initial efforts in China, and the many successes achieved by its already strong processor design, customer support, sales and business development groups there, as well as its Pure consumer products team in China.

The China semiconductor industry is moving quickly to address opportunities in areas such as mobile, consumer and automotive, and emerging markets such as the Internet of Things (IoT). Mr. Liu will focus on driving commercial activity and organizational excellence across Imagination’s China operations to address these opportunities.

Hossein Yassaie, CEO, Imagination, says: “In China, Imagination already has a strong and growing customer base, a well-established sales team, strong local support, and a growing investment in R&D. This new role is part of our next phase of growth as a global company, demonstrating the importance of China to Imagination going forward, both as a major semiconductor market and a vast pool of talent. We are delighted to have James on our team to drive a new phase of Imagination’s growth in China, leveraging his excellent track record and strong relationships within the China semiconductor ecosystem with chip companies, foundries, academia, government and other key players.”

Mr. Liu says: “I’m excited to join Imagination at this stage of the company’s growth. The company has an unrivalled IP portfolio that enables China’s semiconductor firms to compete with the best in the world. Building on the company’s solid base in PowerVR multimedia IP, there are enormous opportunities for MIPS CPUs and Ensigma RPUs in this fast-growing market. We plan to increase our profile in China, ensuring that all potential customers and partners understand the benefits and differentiation they can achieve with Imagination’s advanced IP cores and unique IP platforms.”

Prior to joining Imagination, Mr. Liu spent 18 years at Cadence Design Systems, where he most recently held the role of China site manager – managing 700 employees across multiple sites – and VP of worldwide field operations for China, leading an organization of around 100 people. During his time at Cadence, he held positions in many key customer-facing roles including FAE, product specialist, sales manager, regional GM and national sales director. Prior to joining Cadence, Mr. Liu worked in a government institute as an R&D engineer/project manager for seven years. He holds an MSEE and an EMBA.

Imagination’s many licensees in China include companies such as Actions Semiconductor, AllWinner, HiSilicon, Ingenic Semiconductor, Lenovo, Rockchip, Spreadtrum, and others.

About Imagination Technologies
Imagination is a global technology leader whose products touch the lives of billions of people across the globe. The company’s broad range of silicon IP (intellectual property) includes the key processing blocks needed to create the SoCs (Systems on Chips) that power all mobile, consumer and embedded electronics. Its unique software IP, infrastructure technologies and system solutions enable its customers to get to market quickly with complete and highly differentiated SoC platforms. Imagination’s licensees include many of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, network operators and OEMs/ODMs who are creating some of the world’s most iconic products. See: www.imgtec.com.