Murata Electronics North America announced the appointment of David M. Kirk as President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a Director of MENA effective April 1, 2011. Kirk brings to the new role more than 27 years of engineering, marketing and management experience in the electronics industry.

Before joining Murata Electronics North America Inc., Kirk held the position of President, CEO and a Director of RF Monolithics Inc. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with Murata Electronics North America where he held positions ranging from product management of various product lines to Director of Marketing for North America.

Kirk succeeds Satoshi Sonoda, who will continue his assignment in MENA for a couple of months, to facilitate the transition of his responsibilities to Kirk.

Commenting on his appointment, Kirk said: "I am honored to be the first non-Japanese CEO of North America operations. The progressive forward thinking of Murata to recognize the importance of the North American market and the desire for local knowledge on opportunities within emerging markets such as energy and healthcare.

This is continuing the aggressive positioning of Murata in the global marketplace. No longer to be just considered as the world largest chip capacitor supplier. We are the world's largest module supplier for wireless applications and will continue to seek ways to provide new technologies, additional products and serve more markets over the coming years."

Kirk will be based out of Murata Electronics North America corporate offices in Smyrna, GA (US).