Harry Takahashi to lead OKI Europe through next phase of development as Terry Laidlaw retires
OKI Europe Limited has announced the appointment of Harry Takahashi as managing director, effective from 1st March 2013. He will take over from Terry Laidlaw, who retires after 22 years with the company.
Takahashi joined OKI in 1982 and has held a number of roles within the organisation, both in Japan and Europe, most recently as deputy managing director of OKI Europe. Prior to this he was executive manager within the overseas sales department of parent company OKI Data Corporation and vice president of marketing for the EMEA region. Since his appointment as deputy managing director in 2011, he has worked closely with Laidlaw in steering the company through a period of significant change.
“I am delighted to take on this new role at a time when OKI Europe is poised to take advantage of a number of important commercial initiatives developed over the past two years,” confirms Takahashi. “With a comprehensive product and managed print services/document solutions portfolio now in place, I am looking forward to meeting the challenges of our core SMB customer base and, increasingly, the very different needs of larger enterprise businesses.
“Over the past two decades, Terry has played a central role in building the OEL Group,” he says. “In particular, he has successfully established a strong presence for the business across Central and Eastern Europe. His vision, drive and enthusiasm have been key to the success of these developments, providing the perfect springboard for growth as we enter an exciting period of further expansion across OKI Europe.”
Laidlaw, who retires on 31 March 2013, originally joined OKI Europe with the remit to extend the company’s presence further east across Europe, the Baltic States and the Middle East and today this region accounts for a substantial and still-growing share of OKI Europe revenues.
“I am delighted to have played a part in establishing OKI Europe as a major presence in the print market,” says Laidlaw. “In looking ahead I am confident that, under Harry’s experienced and expert leadership, the company will achieve the ambitious growth plans we have put in place for the next phase of OKI Europe’s development.”
