Swapping his sun cream and shorts for more metropolitan attire, long-term Currie executive, Richard Watson (57) has moved south of the border to take over NSW state management for Currie Group.
Following a long stint as national prepress manager, Queensland state manager and then as regional sales manager for HP Indigo, Watson is considered by Currie Group management the ideal candidate to take on the pivotal role of managing the company’s largest market.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and an honour. These are interesting times in the industry. There’s a lot more money in this [NSW] market and the printers who’ve survived this far deserve our respect. They’re not going to buy the sound of sizzling in the pan. They’re pragmatists and we’ve got to be equally pragmatic,” he said.
A highly experienced integrator, Watson brings a deep understanding of how capital equipment fits into an overall workflow. He believes the HP connection is vital to the Currie Group and that the HP Indigo is the best choice for serious manufacturing printers who are looking to go digital.
“We also have a strong presence in finishing with Horizon so we’re well positioned with the range and type of technologies,” he said.
Although he knows many of Currie Group’s NSW customers from his national roles there are still many he has yet to meet. He says he’s not a deskman but prefers to be out there “shaking the tree.” With a complement of 16 sales and service personnel under his charge, he is looking forward to the years ahead.
“Richard has such a deep knowledge of the industry and of our customers that he needs no introduction to the business,’ said Phillip Rennell, sales director, Currie Group. “He understands the technology from all sides and the expectations of our customers.”
Dave Gully is now marketing and product manager Ricoh production print group.
It’s 30 years since Dave Gully first joined Ricoh on the technical side. That was back in the UK before he made the move to Australia in early 2002. Once here he picked up his association with Ricoh again and before long began to move up the ranks of product management. He nominates the introduction of Ricoh’s production print technology at drupa 2008 as a major change and in 2011 he was elevated into the role of product and strategy manager for production print and wide format.
His latest promotion gives him ever more control and input into how Ricoh addresses the production print market.
He believes his technical background gives him a good insight into the challenges of production software and wide format. The advent of Ricoh’s ‘clickable paper’ is also a sector that really interests him.
“More and more printers are moving into marketing, offering more to their customers. ‘Clickable paper’ is a way of deepening the relationship and future proofing your business,” he said.
He is keenly aware of the need to make sure the right offerings are there to resonate with the market, so he’s planning an extended period of ‘face time’ with both the customers and his sales teams around the country to make sure the Ricoh offering is keenly relevant to the market.