Get 2 Know Mark Boelhouwer, Vice President Strategic Marketing, for Ricoh U.S.

Managed Print Services Connect (May 11 2011) Blogs , Outsourcing , Resellers , Workflow , Go Green and Save

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   The MPSConnect Get 2 Know Series

   The Get 2 Know Series provides opportunities for the MPSConnect global community to become better acquainted with Thought Leaders in the managed print services industry.    To nominate a Thought Leader for the Series   click here >>>> 

   Get 2 Know Mark Boelhouwer, Vice President Strategic Marketing, for Ricoh U.S.

   Mark was kind enough to spend time with us on this informative Q&A interview.  Here’s your chance to learn more about Mark and the strong influence he and Ricoh have on the MPS community.

   Q.        Mark where were you born, and where do you consider “home”?

   A.         I was born in the Southern part of the Netherlands, in a small town named Geldrop, more or less a suburb of Eindhoven, hometown of Philips (Electronics, Lighting & Healthcare). Home for me is where the heart is, which is Wyckoff, NJ as this is where my wife and three sons live. Always a little torn inside since my family and dearest friends live in Holland.

   Q.        Please tell us about yourself and your background before you started your career?

   A.         I am 45, I grew up in the Netherlands and Indonesia, but also spent considerable time in Germany, the USA and Canada.  I’m the oldest in a family of three kids. We grew up in an international environment…moving around. I have two sisters that both live in the heart of Netherlands with their families.  I love sailing, skating (as a ‘typical’ Dutch boy), playing field hockey and squash. Happily married to Moniek and the proud father of three sons ages 12, 11, and 8. They love their lives here in the U.S. and have developed a great passion for football and lacrosse.

   Q.        Where did you go to school?

   A.         I have an MBA from Rochester University (William E. Simon Graduate School) and a Masters of Marketing from TIAS Business School / University of Tilburg. As well as several other post graduate studies at leading global institutes such as IMD (Switzerland).

   Q.        Can you tell us about one of your business role models?

   A.         My father, as a role model, at Philips and Wavin (Shell) for his international perspective, business sense and positive attitude.  Koos Tesselaar during my 2.5 years of international call  enter experience and transformation to TPG, for his entrepreneurial spirits and ‘out of the box’ customer approach. And Carol Dona, CEO and Chairman of Ricoh NL, former COO of NRG Group Benelux, for his no-nonsense ‘no guts no glory’ approach and inspirational coaching of the teams he managed in over 30 years.

   Q.        When did you start with Ricoh and why did you join them?

   A.         I started my career with Nashua (later Ricoh) as a Major Account Executive New Business for copiers and printers in 1990. Spent 7 years in Account & Sales Management as well as Marketing. Ran 4 international call centers for 2.5 years for TNT Post Group (TPG). Founded 2 companies in early 2000, one focused on contact centers….and one focused on sales & marketing performance improvement. Sold my shares in 2004 and joined NRG Benelux (Ricoh Group, Euro 420 Million revenue) in the period of 2004 - 2008 as VP Marketing & Distribution to lead a transformation towards a services business model.  Tangible successful results led to a transfer to Ricoh Americas Corporation as of August 2008 as VP Strategic Marketing. Managed Document Services being one of my charters, and leading in a Global Marketing role. 

   Q.        What has your career path been within Ricoh?

   A.         Always switching between Sales, Marketing and Business Development roles. An innovative and conceptual thinker by nature, I love to work on the cutting edge of current organizational competencies and new customer requirements / challenges.

   Q.        Has the company changed since you joined it?

   A.         Yes absolutely. Before 2008, although many core elements were present, no one in Ricoh Americas talked about Managed Print or - Document Services as an ‘umbrella’ to go-to-market.

   Q.        Did Ricoh have an MPS focus prior to your joining, or did you have some influence on their current MPS position?

   A.         My first priority in the fall of 2008 was to develop an MPS program with a multi-disciplinary project team, which included marketing, sales and operational delivery requirements. In April 2009 we launched MDS (Managed Document Services, MPS and beyond) in the US and Canadian market.  At the end of 2009 we expanded to Europe and later globally, although operational competencies were already present.  We received recognition from Photizo, IDC and Gartner as a global leader in the course of 2010, now being one of the three recognized leaders in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for MPS.

   Q.        How are you currently involved with Ricoh’s MPS focus?

   A.         I am the Marketing leader for the US, Americas and global. I work closely together with other MDS Competency Center leaders (Tools, Processes, Services, Pricing and Operations) to further develop and drive our global capabilities and market awareness.

   Q.        How do you think you and Ricoh influence the MPS community?

   A.         Ricoh is one of the recognized leaders in this space. Through our multiple sales channels we will be rolling out and executing a number of MPS essentials, closely working together in an eco-system of tool providers, IT services and alliances partners. We continuously deliver value to our customers on an ongoing basis through a journey that we both engage on.

   Q.        What are your thoughts for the future of MPS?

   A.         I believe the MPS market will continue to grow, based upon customer’s needs, their requirements and recognition of the value of effective use of documents and information in running their companies more efficiently and effectively. A strong growth therefore ‘beyond the print’, capturing essential business process needs….combining the ‘Fun and Function’ of the mobile end-users in the office environment. The bottom line is, a very interesting road ahead.

   -----------------  from Bob  ---------------------

   We would like to thank Mark for taking the time to share his story and vision with us.  It's not often that we have the chance to get to know our fellow MPS community members on a personal level and to learn more about how they see the MPS market.

   "Thanks Mark".

   To the readers - feel free to leave your comments and any questions that you may have for Mark in the comment section below.

   Thanks again, and I hope you will join us next week for the next Get 2 Know profile in next weeks edition of MPSConnect's eNews.

   Till then,

   Bob Meyer

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