December 8, 2004
Philips Joins Forces With Leading Experts On Its Journey Towards Simplicity
Philips announces creation of the Simplicity Advisory Board
Paris, France – Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) today announced the creation of the Simplicity Advisory
Board (SAB). Its aim is to provide additional outside perspective into how the Philips brand promise – Sense and
Simplicity - can be applied to everything the company does within the healthcare, lifestyle and technology markets.
Mr. Andrea Ragnetti, Chief Marketing Officer and member of the Group Management Committee, will chair this new body.
“The SAB is a clear demonstration of the actions we are taking to introduce simplicity into everything we do at
Philips.We aim to use the collective expertise of the SAB to further drive creativity and thought leadership that will
enable Philips to strengthen its position in healthcare, lifestyle and technology domains, as well as in new market
sectors, such as personal health and wellness that might emerge over the next few years.”
The SAB members are a group of top professionals from diverse backgrounds who are all driven by the essence of
simplicity. Joining Andrea Ragnetti will be:
Sara Berman
Sara is recognized as being one of the most up-and-coming young fashion designers around at the moment with her
collections selling in the UK, US, Scandinavia and Japan. Sara's approach to design is based around simplicity, but she
acknowledges that simplicity is not always easy to achieve and her insights and creativity will be an interesting
addition to the SAB.
Gary Chang
Gary is one of China's most prominent architects who is well known for his creative and innovative use of space.
Throughout his career he has always put emphasis on creating simple yet practical lifestyle environments and this way of
thinking will add a unique perspective to the project.
Peggy Fritzsche
Peggy is the current president of the Radiology Society of North America (RSNA). Peggy's work over the last 25 years in
radiology has driven her to put more of an emphasis on attempting to simplify the patient experience in one of the most
complex areas of healthcare, and this will provide the SAB with invaluable insight.
John Maeda
John is a professor at MIT and one of the leading industry commentators on simplicity in IT. Simplicity is a subject
that John is passionate about, and his insight into the simplification of IT and business processes will prove to be of
great benefit to Philips.
Ken Okuyama
Ken is creative director of Pininfarina Automotive and Transportation Design and is a professor at the Art Centre
College of Design in Pasadena. Ken's ethos is based on designing cars to drivers' needs whilst still achieving a highly
desirable, clean and simple look without sacrificing any functionality or quality.
The SAB will act as a think tank and sounding board for Philips providing counsel and guidance on a number of projects
and issues across the entire healthcare, lifestyle and technology spectrum. It will work with Philips for a period of
twelve months and will have formal meetings on a quarterly basis.
At the end of the year the members of the SAB will present their research and findings on their vision of simplicity and
their recommendations on how Philips can better implement simplicity throughout the entire company. Following the brand
positioning and advertising campaign launch in September the SAB is an important next step for Philips on its journey
towards simplicity.
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is one of the world's biggest electronics companies
and Europe's largest, with sales of EUR 29 billion in 2003. With activities in the three interlocking domains of
healthcare, lifestyle and technology and 166,800 employees in more than 60 countries, it has market leadership positions
in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, color television sets, electric shavers, lighting and silicon
system solutions. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
Safe harbor statement
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of
operations and business of Philips and certain of the plans and objectives of Philips with respect to these items. By
their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.