Recently, Katsumi "Kirk" Yoshida, who is the chairman and CEO of Ricoh Corporation, announced the promotion of James Ivy of Ricoh to executive vice president of Ricoh Corporation. James Ivy of Ricoh had been serving as president and CEO of Savin Corporation, which is a Ricoh subsidiary since 1994 and as a member of the board of directors of Ricoh Corporation since 1998.

New responsibilities for James Ivy of Ricoh will include managing the newly created Office Products Group (OPG) of Ricoh Corporation, of which he will serve as president. This new division of Ricoh Corporation will combine the resources of the current Ricoh Business Unit (which markets Ricoh brand office equipment in the United States) and the corporate marketing and planning group. These two groups will also be merged with, the technology solutions center, the Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) Group and Savin Corporation. Along with this promotion, James Ivy of Ricoh will also become chairman and CEO of Savin with Thomas Salierno. Thomas Salierno is the current Savin vice president who is being appointed President and COO of Savin.

We caught up with Katsumi "Kirk" Yoshida recently and he spoke with us regarding the promotion. "I am very pleased that James will be joining me in shaping the direction of Ricoh as we prepare our plans for future growth into the 21st Century," Mr. Yoshida said. "James' vast experience in the office equipment industry and years of dedication to Ricoh will propel Ricoh to even greater growth in the years ahead."

James Ivy of Ricoh began working as the director of western sales for Ricoh in 1981 and soon his leadership skills were recognized and he was promoted into the vice president of dealer sales position. With his keen marketing abilities and ability to establish and reach all of his sales goals, James Ivy of Ricoh was again promoted, this time to the position of senior vice president for all of Ricoh. With his attention to detail and ability to market and sell to target audiences, James Ivy of Ricoh is sure to be successful as the new executive vice president of Ricoh.