Dr Siamäk Naghian becomes Genelec managing director
Published: ASIA
WORLD: Dr Siamäk Naghian has been named as the new managing director of Genelec, replacing outgoing MD M.Sc. Veikko Hyvönen. Dr Naghian, who was on-hand to meet customers at the recent IBC exhibition in Amsterdam, has been described by Genelec founder and chairman Ilpo Martikainen as ‘very inspiring’. Also newly appointed to the Finland-based loudspeaker manufacturer is Dr Nick Zacharov, who has returned to the company as director of research and development.
Dr Naghian assumed his new duties as managing director in August, having originally joined Genelec in 2005 as head of R&D. He was appointed executive vice president in 2010 before being elevated to his current position. Prior to his arrival at Genelec he was integral to the R&D effort and management of Nokia.
The change in management has reportedly been planned for some five years, according to outgoing managing director Veikko Hyvönen. ‘We agreed in writing to this five years ago, when I took on the role,’ he explained, adding that he had long intended to take a step back from the industry at the age of 55.
‘I decided then that by the by the age of 55 I would have given my best contribution to the industry. I am now 55 and my thoughts have turned to how I can support the next generation. This is why I did my studied education eight years ago and will now put it to good use by teaching.’
Following the announcement, Ilpo Martikainen was quick to praise the new managing director. ‘One of the most delightful aspects with Siamäk is sharing the same values in human life and corporate management. In additional to being systematic and goal-oriented, he is very inspiring and has great sense of humour. We are sure the good cooperation with our partners will continue and find even new dimensions.’
Meanwhile, Dr Naghian was enthusiastic regarding the appointment. ‘Genelec is a unique company whose image resembles quality and trust of customers,’ he explained. ‘It will be a great pleasure to take on this new role and I’m looking forward to the challenge. My main goal is to continue to grow the amount of happy Genelec customers around the world. It gives me great pleasure to know we are making a positive difference that matters to our customers.’
Elsewhere in the company, Dr Nick Zacharov has been named director of research and development, marking his return to Genelec after a gap of 16 years.
Born in London, Dr Zacharov first joined Genelec in 1990 as a trainee, eventually progressing to the level of acoustic engineer before moving to the Nokia Corporation in 1995. In 2000 he became a foreign research fellow at the University of Aizu in Japan whilst continuing to work with Nokia until 2007, becoming widely recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities in the specialist field of audio quality assessment.
Among other roles, he later joined DELTA in Denmark for three years, establishing and developing DELTA SenseLab. He is a member of the Institute of Acoustics and the Acoustical Society of America, a fellow of the Audio Engineering Society and a chartered engineer. He holds several audio patents and has more than 60 major publications to his name including the co-authorship of Perceptual Audio Evaluation – theory, method and application, the acknowledged textbook in this field.
The next edition of Pro Audio Asia will include a full interview with both Dr Naghian and Dr Zacharov.