Two Hires Push Harman's Transformation Ahead

Harman International Industries, the manufacturer of high-end audio equipment and electronic systems, announced several key personnel changes as its chief executive continued to stamp his imprint on a firm that has been headed for 50 years by Chairman Sidney Harman.

Chief executive Dinesh C. Paliwal, who announced this year that Harman would move its headquarters from the District to Stamford, Conn., near his home, announced the hiring of a new chief financial officer and a new head of the automotive division.

Herbert K. Parker will become chief financial officer at the end of this month and will join the Harman Group Executive Committee, which sets strategy for the firm. Parker has more than 25 years of overseas experience in corporate finance, including running divisions in Australia, China and Switzerland for ABB Group, the Swiss technology and energy systems company.

Parker succeeds Kevin L. Brown, who has been Harman's finance chief since 2005. The company said in a statement that Brown would not move to Connecticut for "personal reasons."

The automotive division, meanwhile, will be headed by Klaus Blickle. Blickle most recently was chief executive of EDAG Group, a German engineering company. He has run businesses in China, Canada, Germany, Britain and the United States.

The moves signal the ongoing executive succession at Harman, which was founded in 1952. They are also designed to expand the company's sales and manufacturing presence beyond such developed countries as the United States and Germany, and into potentially lucrative emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, according to a spokesman.

"It's partly Dinesh building a team with the skills he feels are necessary to move ahead," said Brad Hoffman, Harman's vice president for corporate communications. "The company's current cost structure and footprint are very heavily focused in Western countries. And in order to become more competitive, we need to improve our footprint in the emerging countries, not only from a cost standpoint but also from a marketing standpoint."

The company's move from the District to Connecticut follows several turbulent years. Last year, Sidney Harman negotiated a deal to sell the firm to buyout giants Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs for $8 billion, only to see it collapse a few months later when KKR and Goldman backed out.

Paliwal joined the company last year after its previous chief executive, Douglas A. Pertz, was let go with a $3.8 million severance package after four months on the job.

Sidney Harman, an author and philanthropist who is married to Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), has said he and his wife will stay at their compound in the District's Cleveland Park neighborhood and maintain their high local profile. Harman, 90, plans to stay on as chairman.

Harman International produces cutting-edge electronic equipment, including high-tech home audio systems, concert hall and movie theater sound systems, and automobile infotainment digital platforms. Its nameplates include JBL, Harman Kardon, Mark Levinson and Infinity. The company has more than 11,000 employees in offices and plants around the world. It had more than $3.5 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended June 30.