Belkin Gets New Sales Chief

Sean Williams was recently promoted to the newly created role of vice president of the Americas, a spokesperson for the Compton, Calif.-based peripherals vendor confirmed.

The spokesperson also said that Gregg Prendergast is no longer the company's vice president of sales, and is no longer working with Belkin.

Belkin did not say whether Prendergast left the company under his own accord or was let go.

Prendergast joined Belkin in May of 2006 after handling sales and distribution for Samsung America's Information Technology Division.

Williams is a 15-year veteran of Belkin. He was responsible for establishing the company's first European subsidiary, and spent the last 12 years establishing the Belkin brand name in Europe.

Belkin's sales all go through distribution, solution provider and direct marketer channels.

Belkin is in a state of flux as it goes through a major change in its product line. The company in July dropped its uninterruptible power supply (UPS) business, and is no longer bringing new models to market. However, the spokesperson said the company is supporting existing commitments to customers for warranty work and replacement batteries, and has products in stock to handle reseller sales.

The company has recently started focusing more on products to help customers conserve energy, including a new surge protector which cuts down on "phantom power" or "vampire power" consumption, the spokesperson said.

Phantom power is power consumed by an electronic device even when the device is turned off, usually through the power adaptor which continually draws power. The new Belkin surge protectors have a remote control device to turn off power to all outlets except for two which are powered continually, the spokesperson said.