Frans van Houten started his career with the company in 1986 in marketing and sales at Philips Data Systems and held several leadership positions within the company. He became CEO of Airvision, an in-flight entertainment startup in the United States in 1992, and was appointed vice president international sales and operations of Philips Kommunikations Industrie in Germany in 1993. In 1996 Mr. Van Houten joined Philips’ Consumer Electronics division for which he led the region Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, based in Singapore.

In 2002, he became co-CEO of the Consumer Electronics division and was appointed member of Philips’ Group Management Committee in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Van Houten was appointed CEO of Philips Semiconductors and in 2006 joined Philips’ Board of Management until the spin out and creation of NXP Semiconductors in September of that year, when he became the CEO of NXP. Prior to re-joining Philips, Mr. Van Houten was leading a project to separate ING Group’s banking and insurance operations as an independent advisor to ING’s management board. In January 2011, Mr. Van Houten assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) within Philips.

Since October 2010, Mr. Van Houten is also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

Mr. Van Houten was born in the Netherlands in 1960 and holds a Masters degree in Economics and Business Management from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

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