Michael Tamblyn will take over as CEO of Kobo on January 1, succeeding Taka Aiki who replaced Michael Serbinis in that role in February 2014. Before joining Kobo, Aiki had been CEO of Fusion Communications, the telecom subsidiary of Kobo parent company Rakuten. Aiki will become chairman of Kobo and managing executive officer of Rakuten’s global e-book business which includes Kobo, OverDrive and Aquafadas.
Tamblyn has been serving as president of Kobo. In his new role he will also be involved in overseeing all of Rakuten’s global e-book business as vice executive manager.
In prepared remarks, Aiki said because of work done over the last 22 months ”the discipline, innovative thinking, financial planning and customer focus are exactly where they need to be for success.” He also said the financial performance over the last 22 months has “dramatically improved.”
One of the highlights of Aiki’s tenure was the acquisition of OverDrive.
“I am also looking forward to my role in ensuring our parent company, Rakuten, achieves its vision of enriching every stage of a reader’s life. Together with OverDrive and Aquafadas, we want the best possible reading experiences for schools, libraries, institutions, corporations and consumers, enabling readers to buy or borrow digital content anywhere in the world,” said Tamblyn.
