Taiwanese smartphone firm HTC Corp. is replacing longtime chief executive Peter Chou with chairwoman Cher Wang in an attempt to revive its fortunes.
The company's smartphone market has shrunk to under 2 percent from double digits within three years.
Chou, who served as CEO for more than a decade, co-founded the company with Wang as a contract manufacturer of notebook computers and personal digital assistants.
Wang assumed day-to-day operations last year as sales fell and also shifted more responsibilities to Chief Financial Officer Chialin Chang, who also headed sales of the smartphone business.
The new CEO, who will continue as chairwoman, said that she took on the role as she wanted to get more involved and plans to stay on as CEO for the long-term.
Meanwhile, Chou heads the company's innovation lab.
Wang said that the changes were mutually agreed upon and emphasized that it was not a demotion for Chou.
Observers said that the shift in duties among the company's two founders is unlikely to solve the issue of how to deal with Chinese competitors.
Wang noted that the company would focus on technological innovation and that they are refocusing on their product advantage and are moving beyond the smartphone business.
In 2011, HTC was the leading vendor of devices based on the Android operating system. But HTC's sales started to slide in 2012 as the company struggled to find its place in a smartphone market where the high-end was captured by Apple Inc. and by low-cost Chinese manufacturers.