As reported in today’s Morning Links, numerous sources are reporting that Michael Serbinis, who has been with Kobo since the beginning, is being replaced by a Rakuten veteran named Takahito Aiki, who was recently head of a Telecom and will be relocating to Canada to assume the post. Serbinis will remain on board as vice-chairman and founder.
I think this could be good news. I have met Mr. Serbinis a handful of times and liked him, and I like Kobo’s local partnerships and content strategies. But their customer service needs work, and I have always felt they were unconscionably slow at implementing often-requested features. And their iOS app is terrible.
So, maybe a little change will be a good thing for the Kobo team. From my lofty spot here as Teleread’s proud Canadian correspondent, let me be the first to welcomed Mr. Aiki to my country. Let me also put it out there that if he is ever interested in joining me for a drink, I would be happy to take him out somewhere, enjoy a fancy beverage with him and fill him in on what Kobo can do to be number one. You pick the restaurant, Mr. Aiki. Just name the time and the place!
