Samsung has confirmed that Kevin Packingham, the chief product officer for its mobile division, has departed his role, but neither Packingham nor the company itself is willing to explain why.
In a statement confirming his departure, Samsung said it wanted to "thank Kevin for his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavours", but gave no insight on the reasons behind the move or where he's headed next.
Keen carriers
Commenatators credit Packingham with being one of the major figures behind the success Samsung enjoyed with the Galaxy S III, co-ordinating its launch across all of the big US carriers.
He was also the man that changed Samsung's relationship with operators across the globe who, traditionally, had been charged with promoting the firm's handsets once they were on the shelves.
In order to win the trust of crucial carriers, however, Packingham was able to almost guarantee Samsung's smartphones would be hits thanks to the investment the company made in its own massive marketing campaigns.
Samsung Galaxy S III
"The change that happened was it took a lot of burden off the carriers," detailed Packingham in an interview with the New York Times back in September.
"People were coming into their stores and they didn't have to pay for that demand."
[source: New York Times]
