Chas Smith, general manager of Roku’s hardware business, plans to retire and is expected to leave the company at the end of the first quarter of 2019, Roku announced.
The company said it has a search underway with an executive-placement firm to find a successor for the exec. Smith is senior VP and GM of Roku TVs and players, overseeing retail sales and partnerships for the company’s line of hardware products.
Roku CEO Anthony Wood credited Smith with the idea for Roku’s smart TV business, leading the company’s efforts to be the top licensed smart-TV platform in the U.S. The lineup of Roku TVs includes models from brands including Best Buy’s Insignia, TCL, Sharp, Hisense, Philips, Sanyo, RCA, Hitachi and Magnavox.
“Over the last several years, Chas has been instrumental in transforming our business. We all wish Chas a long, healthy and happy retirement as he enters this new chapter in his life,” Roku CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement.
Smith, who is 58, joined Roku in March 2010 as VP of sales, leading online sales of the company’s media players. In August 2012, he assumed the role of GM of original equipment manufacturing to lead the Roku TV business. In December 2015 he was promoted to his current role.
Prior to Roku, Smith headed his own consulting company, catering to companies in the digital media market on sales and marketing strategies. Before that, he worked at Avid Technology for 10 years, most recently as GM of its worldwide video division. Before joining Avid in 1996, he worked at Digidesign, a digital-audio technology company, where ran worldwide sales and marketing. Earlier in his career, Smith was a keyboard player for a Scottish rock band and was a music writer for radio and TV advertising jingles.
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