Harman Kardon 2012 Annual Report Download - page 4

Our Professional division continued to support
talented performers such as Lady Antebellum, Neil
Diamond, Jimmy Buffet, and Lenny Kravitz on tour,
and completed more than 20 major stadium and
venue installations around the world – from Staples
Center in Los Angeles to the People’s Great Hall in
Beijing. We also provided premium audio systems
for such landmark events as the 2012 London
Olympics, Super Bowl XLVI, and the 54th annual
GRAMMY® Awards where HARMAN again served
as official sound partner. The Professional division’s
innovative new IDX Information Delivery System for
large public spaces was installed in eight interna-
tional airports and railway centers.
Our sales performance in the emerging markets was
particularly dramatic, with steadily-increasing BRIC
country sales led by a 42 percent increase in China.
We have now added nearly 3,800 employees in
best-cost countries — highlighted during fiscal year
2012 by the opening of HARMAN’s largest new
manufacturing and R&D facility in Dandong, China,
a new engineering center in Chengdu, and our
second Chinese flagship store in Beijing. We will
continue to add resources at our multiple develop-
ment facilities in India and China, and we are
strengthening our resources in Russia and Brazil as
we pursue such milestone opportunities as the 2014
Winter Olympics, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and
2016 Summer Olympics.
Across these many achievements, cutting-edge
HARMAN innovation remains a common catalyst
for growth. We added some 700 new patents and
filings during fiscal year 2012, bringing our invention
portfolio to more than 4,400. We earned distinguished
supplier awards from Ferrari and Toyota during
the year, and formed new partnerships with other
leading innovators including Sierra Wireless, Texas
Instruments, Broadcom, NXP and Freescale.
This commitment to innovation continues to
differentiate HARMAN from its competitors. Our
energy-efficient GreenEdge™ audio and infotainment
systems deliver premium performance at twice the
power and weight efficiency of traditional systems.
We have advanced the HARMAN “Connected Car”
vision with such innovations as real-time smart
phone integration via Near Field Communications,
a Situational Human Machine Interface that
provides drivers with highly personalized in-car
data, Augmented Navigation that blends live video
with GPS-based map displays for greater clarity,
and a revolutionary Parking Assistant that mixes live
camera views from the vehicle with virtual reality
modeling of the surrounding space.
We remain sharply focused on eliminating potential
driver distractions as vehicles and their occupants
become more connected with the world around
them. Millions of HARMAN customers already
control their in-car infotainment systems and various
vehicle functions via simple voice commands, and
others enjoy access to “hands-free, eyes-free”
infotainment that converts diverse Web or message
content to streaming audio. We recently took yet
another step toward multi-sensory human interface
as we demonstrated gesture-based controls that
will let drivers manage in-car systems with simple
hand movements.
With an eye to further nurturing our long-term
business model, HARMAN published its first
Sustainability Report during fiscal year 2012 —
dedicated to the core principles of generating share-
holder value and promoting safe, sound enjoyment;
innovating to improve our environmental perform-
ance; and making sound investments in our people
and communities. We continue to take definitive
steps in each area.
Recognizing that HARMAN’s talented people are
integral to our long-term success, we continue
to empower our team through innovative training
programs at every level, and we link a portion
of every key employee’s compensation to the
achievement of specific personal and group goals.
We strengthened our top-level talent pool during
the fiscal year with the addition of Samsung
Electronics veteran I. P. Park as Chief Technology
Officer, and the appointment of former Tyco
International Chief Financial Officer Frank Sklarsky
to the HARMAN Board of Directors. Our seasoned,
multinational leadership and governance team
innovation
global markets
wins
leadership
vision
achievement
growth