Creative Technology’s chairman and chief executive Sim Wong Hoo has died at the age of 67. The company announced that the Singaporean inventor and technology entrepreneur, "passed away peacefully" on Wednesday.
Sim founded the home-grown business in 1981 and had been leading the firm in designing and developing computer accessories and digital entertainment devices. The firm touched on global success with Sound Blaster sound cards for computers and other audio products including wireless speakers, headphones, amplifiers, audio converters and home theatre systems.
Moreover, he entered a battle with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs over their companies’ portable music players in 2006. He filed patent infringements and was awarded S$134 million in a settlement.
Creative, recently has a strong comeback in 2019 with its Super X-Fi, an audio technology that enhanced user experience in real-life.
Creative’s board has now appointed Song Siow Hui, president of the company’s Creative Labs business unit, as interim chief executive officer and lead independent non-executive director Lee Kheng Nam as the company’s acting chairman.
Song, who had worked with Sim for more than 30 years, said his death was a sad and sudden development.
“We feel a great loss…Even on the night before, he had a long discussion with the engineering team and was scheduled to meet with the online sales team the next day. The best thing to do now is to ensure the continued smooth running of the company,” he said.
