{"id":30744,"date":"2018-08-30T09:53:09","date_gmt":"2018-08-30T16:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=30744"},"modified":"2018-08-30T09:53:09","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T16:53:09","slug":"ld-products-difference-maker-christian-pepper-eschews-the-safe-bet-but-cashes-in-on-rewarding-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2018\/08\/ld-products-difference-maker-christian-pepper-eschews-the-safe-bet-but-cashes-in-on-rewarding-career\/","title":{"rendered":"LD Products Difference Maker Christian Pepper Eschews the Safe Bet, but Cashes in on Rewarding Career"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Christian Pepper, LD Products Inc.<\/p><\/div>\n

In the 1998 film \u201cRounders,\u201d the protagonist struggles between committing his full attention to law school while trying to hide from his true passion, which is playing poker for a living. In a pivotal scene, one of his law professors relates a similar choice between becoming a rabbi, which was deeply rooted in his family, or pursuing a career in law. The professor opted for the latter, which devastated his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last thing I took away from the Yeshiva was this: We can\u2019t run from who we are,\u201d the professor concluded. \u201cOur destiny chooses us.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the earliest career crossroads encountered by Christian Pepper came not long after he graduated from the University of Greenwich in London. A former IBM executive, Jeremy Stirling, had secured a contract to create an asset recovery division for Lexmark and was in the market for a good salesperson. Pepper\u2019s degree was in business, but he was looking for work in the marketing field. Pepper did the interview, anyway, wanting to remain top of mind for his recruiter. While Pepper found Stirling to be a great guy, he had no interest in sales and said as much.<\/p>\n

Stirling\u2019s reply was pure Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\u201cA marketing person is just a salesperson who doesn\u2019t have any balls,\u201d he told Pepper. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a pair of balls, haven\u2019t you, Christian?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stirling may not hold a candle to Martin Landau in acting ability, but Pepper took the sales position. More than 20 years later, this 2018 ENX Magazine<\/em> Difference Maker can fully attest that his destiny found him. The president of the channel partner division for LD Products is proud of the career he\u2019s created, and has the utmost respect and admiration for the 200-strong colleagues and the corporate culture that\u2019s cultivated at LD Products. Pepper credits Aaron Leon for fostering a family-type atmosphere at LD Products.<\/p>\n

Having the Goods<\/strong><\/p>\n

From an operations standpoint, Pepper believes LD Products is without peer. \u201cI get a kick out of the reaction customers have when they tour our facility,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThere is no other business I\u2019m aware of in our industry that employs high levels of the latest warehouse automation commonly associated with Amazon Fulfillment centers.\u00a0It\u2019s necessary because we ship an average of 8,000 orders a day.\u00a0As one CEO of a well-known industry distributor put it recently when he toured, \u2018This place is operations porn.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Passionate, hardworking and more than a little outspoken, Pepper places value on honesty and integrity. He\u2019s found guidance sages in people such as Stirling and Clover Founder Jim Cerkleski, and both have proven to be examples of the success that hard work and determination can produce. In fact, it was Stirling who also provided a key nugget of advice that Pepper has taken to heart: Always bat with a straight bat. The cricket metaphor cautions against trying to make trick shots.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cJeremy explained to me that a career is long and over the years you are going to encounter your peers multiple times,\u201d Pepper noted. \u201cSometimes, you\u2019ll be ahead of them, and other times they\u2019ll be the person who can decide something important that affects you.\u00a0He told me, \u2018If you always act honestly, you can walk into any room with your head held high and not worry.\u2019\u00a0Conversely, if you treat people badly, one day that is going to catch up with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The year 2017 marked an exciting time for Pepper and LD Products, as its Gold Line quality standard came to fruition for new-build compatible toner cartridges. New-build compatible cartridges had long been knocked for having a reputation of low quality, but after eight long, grueling months of product development and field testing, Pepper and the LD Products team emerged with a product that he believes is on par with OEM quality standards.<\/p>\n

Golden Future<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, with eight months of selling the Gold Line under his belt (and a return rate of .1 percent), Pepper believes the best may be yet to come. \u201cI hope that over time, as we gain more customers and market acceptance, our team and the Gold Line will gain widespread industry recognition for product quality,\u201d he said. \u201cFor now, in the early stages of our business, our team knows that the work is paying off and I\u2019m incredibly proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In cultivating that high level of quality, Pepper notes that the onus is on LD Products to continue ensuring that it has fully committed the resources necessary to maintain the ideals of the Gold Line and the notion that new-build reman doesn\u2019t equate inferiority. Moving ahead, Pepper and LD will seek diversification opportunities to help resellers supply corporate customers with products and services in the future office environment.<\/p>\n

Christian and his wife, Zoe, are the parents of a son who is fast approaching his first birthday, and the Peppers are keen on adding to their brood in the near future. They enjoy boating and camping and relish weekend opportunities to explore America\u2019s lakes and shorelines. Pepper loves to fish while on vacation (the couple has visited most of the lower 48 states) and looks forward to the day when he can share all of his outdoor knowledge and talents with his son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 1998 film \u201cRounders,\u201d the protagonist struggles between committing his full attention to law school while trying to hide from his true passion, which is playing poker for a living. In a pivotal scene, one of his law professors relates a similar choice between becoming a rabbi, which was deeply rooted in his family, or pursuing a career in law. The professor opted for the latter, which devastated his family. \u201cThe last thing I took away from the Yeshiva was this: We can\u2019t run from who we are,\u201d the professor concluded. \u201cOur destiny chooses us.\u201d One of the earliest career crossroads encountered by Christian Pepper came not long after he graduated from the University of Greenwich in London. A former IBM executive, Jeremy Stirling, had secured a contract to create an asset recovery division for Lexmark and was in the market for a good salesperson. Pepper\u2019s degree was in business, but he was looking for work in the marketing field. Pepper did the interview, anyway, wanting to remain top of mind for his recruiter. While Pepper found Stirling to be a great guy, he had no interest in sales and said as much. Stirling\u2019s reply was pure Hollywood. \u201cA marketing person is just a salesperson who doesn\u2019t have any balls,\u201d he told Pepper. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a pair of balls, haven\u2019t you, Christian?\u201d Stirling may not hold a candle to Martin Landau in acting ability, but Pepper took the sales position. More than 20 years later, this 2018 ENX Magazine Difference Maker can fully attest that his destiny found him. The president of the channel partner division for LD Products is proud of the career he\u2019s created, and has the utmost respect and admiration for the 200-strong colleagues and the corporate culture that\u2019s cultivated at LD Products. Pepper credits Aaron Leon for fostering a family-type atmosphere at LD Products. Having the Goods From an operations standpoint, Pepper believes LD Products is without peer. \u201cI get a kick out of the reaction customers have when they tour our facility,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThere is no other business I\u2019m aware of in our industry that employs high levels of the latest warehouse automation commonly associated with Amazon Fulfillment centers.\u00a0It\u2019s necessary because we ship an average of 8,000 orders a day.\u00a0As one CEO of a well-known industry distributor put it recently when he toured, \u2018This place is operations porn.\u2019\u201d Passionate, hardworking and more than a little outspoken, Pepper places value on honesty and integrity. He\u2019s found guidance sages in people such as Stirling and Clover Founder Jim Cerkleski, and both have proven to be examples of the success that hard work and determination can produce. In fact, it was Stirling who also provided a key nugget of advice that Pepper has taken to heart: Always bat with a straight bat. The cricket metaphor cautions against trying to make trick shots. \u201cJeremy explained to me that a career is long and over the years you are going to encounter your peers multiple times,\u201d Pepper noted. \u201cSometimes, you\u2019ll be ahead of them, and other times they\u2019ll be the person who can decide something important that affects you.\u00a0He told me, \u2018If you always act honestly, you can walk into any room with your head held high and not worry.\u2019\u00a0Conversely, if you treat people badly, one day that is going to catch up with you.\u201d The year 2017 marked an exciting time for Pepper and LD Products, as its Gold Line quality standard came to fruition for new-build compatible toner cartridges. New-build compatible cartridges had long been knocked for having a reputation of low quality, but after eight long, grueling months of product development and field testing, Pepper and the LD Products team emerged with a product that he believes is on par with OEM quality standards. Golden Future Now, with eight months of selling the Gold Line under his belt (and a return rate of .1 percent), Pepper believes the best may be yet to come. \u201cI hope that over time, as we gain more customers and market acceptance, our team and the Gold Line will gain widespread industry recognition for product quality,\u201d he said. \u201cFor now, in the early stages of our business, our team knows that the work is paying off and I\u2019m incredibly proud of them.\u201d In cultivating that high level of quality, Pepper notes that the onus is on LD Products to continue ensuring that it has fully committed the resources necessary to maintain the ideals of the Gold Line and the notion that new-build reman doesn\u2019t equate inferiority. Moving ahead, Pepper and LD will seek diversification opportunities to help resellers supply corporate customers with products and services in the future office environment. Christian and his wife, Zoe, are the parents of a son who is fast approaching his first birthday, and the Peppers are keen on adding to their brood in the near future. They enjoy boating and camping and relish weekend opportunities to explore America\u2019s lakes and shorelines. Pepper loves to fish while on vacation (the couple has visited most of the lower 48 states) and looks forward to the day when he can share all of his outdoor knowledge and talents with his son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":29115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,84,1638],"tags":[2712],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30744"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30744"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30747,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30744\/revisions\/30747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}