Motorola plans new handset range to expand presence

Dubai: If Greg Brown wasn't running Motorola worldwide, chances are he'd be coaching basketball professionally.

"But really, being the co-CEO of Motorola is my dream job," he told Gulf News in an exclusive sit-down interview on Wednesday afternoon.

That dream job consists of heading up a corporation with 64,000 employees worldwide, one built on creativity, bringing innovation to communications and its related infrastructure, developing enterprise mobility solutions, digital set tops, cable modems and mobile devices.

When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in July 1969, he spoke his immortal "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" words through a Motorola radio.

Brown was on a whirlwind visit of the Middle East and North Africa, and had just landed in Dubai, where its Middle East and Pakistan operations are based.

"We have a strong commitment to this region," Brown said, adding the Motorola has had a presence here for nearly 40 years.

Naturally, with the global recession, Motorola has felt the pinch in recent times, but Brown points to the company's return to profitability in second quarter.

The company has a long history of firsts, from car radios to walkie-talkies, and in 1984 revolutionised the global personal communications industry with the introduction of mobile phones.

Indeed, Motorola became synonymous with the devices, popularising them in a way that literally changed the course of the world.

In 2004, the company introduced the highly popular Razr model, but failed to capitalise on its success with models that continued to capture the imagination of consumers.

"Certainly, the Razr was a hugely popular phone, as much for its design as anything else," Brown acknowledges. However, he believes Motorola's handset division has got its strategy right under co-CEO Sanjay Jha.

Recently, Motorola introduced its Android handset, based on a key strategic partnership with Google and running its software.

The Android is a next-generation smart phone designed for data-intensive email and web browsing, a segment from which Motorola had been absent, losing out to consumer favourite models such as the iPhone and BlackBerry range.

But that's about to change, with Motorola about to introduce a full range of smart phones in the coming months. And Brown is quick to point to Motorola's strategic partnership with Microsoft as a key cornerstone moving forward.

In the Middle East, Brown sees huge opportunities for maximising broadband opportunities, allowing consumers to choose content, device and the time and place for its consumption, shifting the emphasis from "prime time content" to "my time content".

It's a revolutionary process, but one for which Motorola is ideally placed to maximise potential.

Service providers around the world need solutions and expertise, and moving forward, Motorola aims to remain at the vanguard of this consumer communications revolution.

Brown directly heads up Motorola's enterprise mobility solutions, serving both commercial enterprises and government and public safety customers around the world.

While both sets of customers are unique, they do have common needs for real-time information, seamless connectivity and power in the hands of mobile workers when and where they need it.

Enthusiastic

He is also highly enthusiastic over the opportunities presented by WiMAX - a high-speed wireless telecommunications technology to transmit data as an alternative to current DSL and cable connections.

In a Middle Eastern context, WiMAX will bring high-speed telecommunications capacity to areas where it wasn't economically feasible before.

While most consumers are still coming to grips with 3G devices, Brown's thoughts are firmly places on the development and deployment of what he terms the "ubiquitous 4G" wireless networks, which should be rolled out over the coming year.

Asked if he could go back in time and meet the two Galvin brothers who founded Motorola more than 80 years ago, what would he say?

"That's a really good question," he answers. "I think I would congratulate them for setting up a company which was built on technical innovation and invention. And I firmly believe that I am the guardian of that legacy today, because we are still a corporation that prides ourself on technical innovation and being a world leader in identifying trends and developing products."

Talking to Brown, you get the impression that he's not used to coming second. It's a quality any good basketball coach should have; it's also a quality every good CEO should have.

Two weeks ago, he was present in Copenhagen when the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2016 summer games to Rio de Janeiro.

As a key business leader in the Chicago area, Brown was an integral member of the 2016 Chicago Olympic bid committee.

"Obviously we felt we had a great proposal, the mayor was behind it and it was a good public and private bid," he said. "What was more surprising was that Chicago went out in the first round of voting."

You don't get to be CEO of Motorola without being able to turn a bad decision around. "I'm glad it went to Brazil," he says, bringing the interview back to Motorola. "Brazil is a very important market for us. We have a manufacturing plant in Jaguariuna that employs 3,000."

He's certainly not used to finishing second. That holds true for Motorola, if he has anything to do with it.

Profile

Greg Brown is Motorola's co-chief executive officer and chief executive of the company's Broadband Mobility Solutions arm. He joined the Illinois-based firm in 2003 and was elected to its board of directors four years later.

He's responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of Motorola's $30.1 billion telecommunications business, which has more than 64,000 employees worldwide.

Its portfolio includes wireless handsets, wireless accessories, digital entertainment devices, wireless access systems, voice and data communications systems and enterprise mobility solutions.

He served as the company's president and chief operating officer for nine months in 2007. He had earlier headed up four separate Motorola sections covering government and public safety, networks, enterprise and automotive businesses.

He also led the $3.9 billion acquisition of Symbol Technologies, the second largest transaction in Motorola's history.

He was appointed by US President Barack Obama to serve on the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, and had campaigned as part of the 2016 Chicago Olympic Committee.

He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers University. He is married with two children.