Toronto-based e-reading company Kobo has hired Jean-Marc Dupuis, a former sales director at Apple, as managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
At Apple, Dupuis was sales director for the same regions and was “instrumental in increasing customer partnerships in Europe, expanding Apple’s business in emerging countries and more than doubling revenue in many countries,” according to the press release. “Together we’ll push forward the company’s 2013 objectives, with European expansion being a top priority,” Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis said in a statement.
Kobo expanded to Brazil, Portugal, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Africa and the Netherlands in 2012 and said last week that it doubled its e-reader sales last year. Wayne White, EVP and GM of devices, cited “tremendous international opportunity to bring e-reading to new markets” in that announcement, saying, “The transition from print to digital, the evolution of devices, the application of technologies, and the market adoption of e-reading around world is in its infancy.” The company plans to expand to India, China and Russia in 2013.
 |
 |