Paul Scarlett
Director, Asset Management and Life Cycle Management
Ricoh USA, Inc.
It can be argued that the biggest value proposition that a person or business can have is its reputation. Quite often, one bad decision can result in its permanent loss.
Paul Scarlett, director of asset management at Ricoh USA, learned this lesson the easy way via a nugget of wisdom imparted upon him by his father, Ed, during his formative years. “He told me that you should never compromise your integrity, because once you do, you will never lose that reputation,” Scarlett noted.
A little preemptive knowledge never hurt anyone, and being in a position to safeguard and augment his integrity figured into the equation that made Scarlett a 2017 ENX Magazine Difference Maker.
“My business approach is fairly simple; treat everyone as a customer/partner with respect,” Scarlett observed. “Build solid relationships that benefit both parties, give clear expectations and hold everyone accountable.”
Scarlett began his professional career in the business and consumer mortgage industry, but consistent right-sizing led him in search of opportunities with GE Capital. His first position there was to develop the Dealer Buy Back program for the Office Imaging Portfolio. He joined Ricoh in 2014 and credits the company with bringing out his creative side in finding new opportunities for optimizing used assets.
With Ricoh, the most rewarding aspect of his job is optimizing and/or improving the OEM’s used equipment realization rates. “Outside of the hard work needed, you are able to see the business impact of your hard work,” Scarlett added.
Along the way, Scarlett has reaped invaluable insight from industry veterans who have helped to shape his career. Joe Inferrera, formerly of GE Capital and now with EverBank, was Scarlett’s first manager in the office imaging industry and was instrumental in helping lay Scarlett’s foundation.
“After working for Joe for several years, he convinced me to move across country to become a regional sales manager at GE,” Scarlett noted. “That experience helped me understand the business from the dealer, end user and manufacturer point of view.”
Scarlett was bestowed with the Ricoh Leadership Award in 2016, and from a team perspective, the unit enjoyed an excellent year, making all of its financial commitments through hard work and determination. Scarlett hopes to build upon that success in 2017 by growing Ricoh’s various re-use programs through its Remanufacturing and Pre-owned platforms. The programs are a beneficial way to re-use the assets by giving them a second life with a new end-user.
“There is always room for improvement, and in the coming year we are increasing the collaboration with other Ricoh regions [Europe/Canada/Latin America/Asia Pacific],” he said.
Away from the office, Scarlett enjoys spending time with his wife, Paula, and their two daughters (Katharina and Hannah). The Scarlett family can often be spotted poolside or at the beach, and they count Cancun, Mexico and Hawaii among their favorite destinations.
