Steve Venn steps down from the top job as the imaging company aligns its local back office with the UK and assigns Nexpress service to Grish Rewal’s Absolute Electronics.
Following Kodak’s worldwide reorganisation, 40-year company veteran Steve Venn proposed that his local managing director position was no longer necessary and be made redundant. Not too far from retirement he saw it as an opportunity to recalibrate his association with the company – perhaps doing some work as a consultant after he retires at the end of April.
Well-known local industry identity, Anthony Harvey, is stepping up to take on the role of director sales and marketing/country leader for Kodak in ANZ, reporting to Martin Mayo, vice president, in the UK. It’s part of the new split-world vision of Kodak, with Australia and New Zealand located in the EUCAN group (Europe, USA, Canada and Australia/New Zealand). The other global half is the ALMA group (Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa).
In addition, under the new CEO, Jeff Clarke, the company is split into five relatively autonomous divisions; PSD (printing plates etc.), Packaging, Inkjet (Prosper etc.), SSD (software and branding) and Consumer. All up, it means that Venn sees an opportunity to take redundancy, leaving his long-term company in good condition.
“Look, I know people will say what they want but I’m being straight with you. This is my idea, I put the plan together and I’m really pleased to be able to leave the company in such good shape,” said Venn.
His retirement comes after a year of dramatic change that saw Kodak reassert itself as a customer facing business, supplying plates and services directly to printing companies, not going through intermediaries. A bruising battle over plate supply with Heidelberg, as well as re-entering the flexo packaging market directly, caused waves in the industry.
The decision to nominate Absolute Electronics, which up to now was know mainly as the Xeikon service provider, as the service provider for Nexpress is the first step in a campaign to re-invigorate the brand in the local market. Seven Nexpress service technicians have transferred to Grish Rewal's business, bolstering his already substantial technical resources.
It's a cause close to the heart of the new Kodak honcho, Martin Mayo, who says that in the UK, with its 80-plus installations the Nexpress, ‘is a really good business. I look at the Australian market and I can see it’s very similar. We can increase our numbers here,” he said.
Mayo has spent the past two weeks in the region, meeting customers and explaining the changes. He will be back in time for Printex but assures that local people will run the local Kodak. “You must read Top Down Management. It changed my life. It’s the way I operate,” he said.