HTC loses yet another exec: COO steps down

Amid disastrous profits and significant marketing struggles, HTC just can’t seem to hold onto its executives.

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The company’s chief operating officer, Matthew Costello, is the latest to step down, Bloomberg reports. He’ll stay on as an executive adviser with HTC, but there’s a good chance that’s just an honorary position so it doesn’t look like he’s completely abandoning the troubled company.

Fred Liu, HTC’s head of engineering and operations, will take on Costello’s operations responsibilities. Liu will also overlook product quality and sales operations in his bigger role.

The news comes amidst HTC losing its Asia CEO, and reportedly losing its chief product officer. Additionally, the Verge reports that the company also lost execs from its communications and marketing teams over the past few months.

It’s not tough to see why executives are losing faith. HTC recently reported a 98 percent drop in profit from a year ago, and its flagship One smartphone has been plagued with production issues. It’s not all doom and gloom: The company recently reported that it sold 5 million One units in its first month, and it expects revenues to increase by $1 billion this quarter (mostly due to One sales).

Despite all of HTC’s troubles, I still think the One is the best smartphone out right now. It’s worth a look — especially since it could end up being HTC’s last great device.

Photo: Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat