Sharp has today announced major changes to its top team in the UK.

Managing director Paul Molyneux (pictured left) has been promoted to major roles in Sharp Electronics’s European Group where he becomes chief operating officer, deputy group general manager and vice-president.

In his new role, he will be responsible for all of Sharp’s European sales subsidiaries and Sharp Microelectronics Europe, as well as business planning, business structure improvements, PR, branding and environmental policy.

Mr Molyneux was the first non-Japanese UK managing director of Sharp and the promotion follows his success in heading up Sharp UK for the last six years. During this time the business has moved to London, the “This is Why” brand ethos has been rolled out and the company has achieved the accolade of being named one of Britain’s top employers.

Of his new role, Mr Molyneux said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to lead a truly original brand in Europe at a time when people are seeking out authenticity.

“Sharp has so many positive stories to tell, with 100 years of innovations with genuine human benefit, from the first LCD television to breakthroughs in solar energy. There are few rivals to the kind of knowledge we have built up as a company. My job is to ensure that shines through in all we do.”

His successor as UK managing director and president will be Paul Hide (pictured below), currently Sharp UK’s operations director and director of the HE division. He has been with the company for five years and was previously marketing director.

Of the changes, Mr Hide said: “Stability is an undervalued commodity, but it is the only platform for real growth. Paul has left Sharp UK in great shape for me to build on and I look forward to helping the company achieve some very aggressive targets.”

He added: “Paul’s presence at a European level means there is continuity to our overall strategy, and I see many positive opportunities for us to carve out new business in the UK.”