Carl Yankowski

Biography

CEO/FOUNDER/CHIEF OPERATING PARTNER - WESTERHAM GROUP, LLC Carl Yankowski parachuted into Palm, Inc. as CEO in December 1999, three months before its $1+ Billion IPO. As CEO he grew the company to a $2 billion sales rate, drove unaided awareness to over 65%, and then restructured it dramatically after the Spring 2001 global economic downturn. Immediately prior to joining Palm, Carl was CEO of The Reebok Brand where he led the worldwide Reebok-brand business, a multibillion enterprise that was acquired by Adidas. During his tenure there, Carl successfully reorganized the company for growth, significantly streamlined operations, and improved profitability. Previously, Carl spent over four years at Sony Electronics, Inc. as President and COO. He was operationally responsible for the development and launch of numerous successful products in growing markets and new business categories for Sony, including DVD, digital imaging, DSS, and Vaio personal computers. He helped drive profitable U.S. revenue from $6+ billion to over $10 billion, and oversaw significant expansion of U.S. manufacturing and R & D. Under his guidance, the company was named the most-respected brand name in America in 1995 and 1997. In an earlier position as Chairman of Polaroid’s Asia Pacific Region, Carl led strong revenue and profit growth in the business imaging market globally, and set up the company’s Asia Pacific headquarters. He has held marketing and strategic leadership positions in several prestigious technology and consumer-products companies, including General Electric, Pepsi, Memorex and Procter & Gamble. Carl earned simultaneous bachelor of science degrees in electrical engineering and management (Sloan School) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His governance experience includes Telligent, Unipixel, Informatica, Chase, CRF, Avidyne, and several small firms, plus the Visiting Committee of the MIT Media Lab, the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the MIT Sloan School. He is an active pilot.  

Research Interest

life science