Proven digital transformation and services leader brings more than 20 years of global experience to new role
Ricoh today announced that Carsten Bruhn is now the President and CEO of Ricoh North America. A self-described "global citizen," Bruhn brings more than 20 years of experience from around the world. This includes having lived in Great Britain, Denmark and Japan, and with extensive travel meeting with customers in all regions throughout the world, including North America. He has led global teams that have successfully built digital transformation strategies and implemented services that solve crucial problems for organizations of all sizes – from global enterprises to small businesses.
"The opportunity that lies ahead for Ricoh, our partners and customers is incredible," said Bruhn. "Customer behaviors, the increasingly changing workforce and the speed of digital transformation are driving toward the need for new business models, including digital services and subscription models, to name a few. And there's so much to be energized about in North America specifically. We have a tremendous customer base, a passionately dedicated team and a network of dealer partners who share our commitment to solving challenging business problems today and into the future."
Bruhn most recently served as Corporate Vice President for Ricoh Global Services. In this role, he managed and fostered Ricoh's relationship with the company's largest, enterprise customers around the world. He focused on empowering customers to embrace digital transformation and built strategies with Ricoh's best-in-class partners to enable businesses to transform into digital businesses. Under Bruhn's leadership, Ricoh's Global Major Account (GMA) channel experienced growth by attracting new customers, while also renewing and providing increased value to existing customers. In 2020, these initiatives continued to accelerate by helping customers work from anywhere with digitalization, automation, and collaboration solutions, as well as providing tools for a safe return to the workplace.
During a two-year assignment in Japan, at Ricoh's global headquarters, Bruhn led the global services transformation for Ricoh Business Solutions. Previous roles included Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Ricoh Global Services. Prior to joining Ricoh, Bruhn managed Lanier's Northern Europe region. Leveraging this experience, he understands the entrepreneurial spirit and passion that drives Ricoh Family Group dealer partners today and is eager to collaborate with them.
Bruhn's leadership approach includes articulating a clear vision and direction to inspire employees and foster collaboration and productivity. As a "servant leader" he consistently drives the collective team forward, leveraging individual strengths to support a common goal: customer success. Bruhn also focuses on important cultural issues such as diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and he discusses the importance of understanding and addressing unconscious biases. His global experiences and unique perspective encourage and embrace an inclusive company culture.
In the coming months, Bruhn will publicly outline his business strategy for Ricoh North America. Bruhn's strategy will provide a clear and ambitious path forward – both short and long-term – built with agility and flexibility to quickly address customers' changing needs throughout 2021 and beyond.
