Twelve new inductees to the Consumer Electronics Association's (CEA) CE Hall of Fame were announced at CEA's Washington Forum conference. The CE Hall of Fame honors leaders whose significant contributions make the consumer electronics industry a vibrant,dynamic and vital part of our nation and its economy.

The CE Hall of Fame includes inventors, executives, engineers, retailers and others who are chosen by a panel of industry judges each year.

Following are the honorees listed by category:

Founders/Inventors
Ken Kutaragi, former chairman and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, is considered the "Father of the PlayStation". In 1989, he convinced Sony to develop a next-generation game machine and convinced skeptical executives to release PlayStation in 1994. It quickly became the best-selling game console.
Dr.Fritz Sennheiser, a pioneer in microphone and headphone technology, founded Sennheiser Electronic Corp. in Hanover, Germany. His innovations include the shotgun microphone, open-back headphones, infrared transmission technology and developments in multi-channel wireless technology.
Team: Martin Cooper and Donald Linder led the Motorola engineering team that developed the first mobile phone, the DynaTAC, in less than six months.

Sales/Marketing
Joe Clayton, former CEO of RCA/Thomson and CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. Clayton also played a large role in the launch and success of DirecTV in 1994. In addition, Clayton served as chairman of CEA from 1995 through 1996, during a period of rapid change.
Eddy Hartenstein, former president and later chairman and CEO of DirecTV Inc., built DirecTV into the second largest pay TV service in the U.S. In 2004, Hughes sold DirecTV to News Corp.
Warren Lieberfarb, former president of Warner Home Video, was dubbed by Variety as "The Father of the DVD." Recognizing a need for a next-generation format, he negotiated with rival studios, retailers and competing CE and PC manufacturers to create a single format.

Retailers
The late Jewel and David Abt founded Chicago's Abt Electronics in 1936, one of the Midwest's largest electronic retailers. This mom-and-pop store is still family owned and operated.
Richard Sharp became president of the newly-named Circuit City in 1984, CEO from 1986 to 2000 and chairman of the board from 1994 until 2006, during its period of greatest growth.