Effective Jan. 1, Clifton Pemble will be promoted president and chief executive of Garmin. In this role he replaces Min Kao, one of the founders of the American GPS company, who will remain with the group as chairman of the supervisory board. Pemble joined Garmin as an engineer shortly after its establishment in 1989. Since 2004, Pemble has served as a member of the supervisory board and since 2007 as president and chief operating officer. Just a few weeks ago, Min Kao and his fellow co-founder of Garmin, Gary Burrell, were awarded with an annual innovation award put out by The Economist. The two won the prize in the consumer products category for their creativity and vision by developing innovations that have become part of everyday life for millions of people.