Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC on Friday confirmed a report that it has hired a marketing executive who worked for South Korean rival Samsung Electronics. Paul Golden was chief marketing officer for Samsung's U.S. mobile phone business and helped create and launch the company's successful Galaxy brand before leaving in 2012, according to Golden's LinkedIn page.

HTC said that the company "continues to invest in talent and recruitment as part of our broader human resources strategy to ensure the continued strength of our company's organizational structure."

"To achieve our long-term goals as a business and return maximum value to our shareholders, these are necessary steps to drive ongoing innovation, ensure our ability to forge (a) strong foundation that (will) solidify our future," the company said.

HTC has posted operating losses and declines in sales and market share in the past three quarters, but hopes that its new Desire series and new flagship HTC One M8 smartphone will help for a turnaround.