{"id":4939,"date":"2013-05-03T08:38:28","date_gmt":"2013-05-03T12:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theweekinimaging.com\/?p=4939"},"modified":"2013-05-03T08:38:28","modified_gmt":"2013-05-03T12:38:28","slug":"the-end-of-the-mathews-era-at-toshiba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/feature-articles\/2013\/05\/the-end-of-the-mathews-era-at-toshiba\/","title":{"rendered":"The End of the Mathews Era at Toshiba"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_4940\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Mark-Mathews.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4940\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4940\" alt=\"Mark Mathews\" src=\"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Mark-Mathews-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4940\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mark Mathews<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Why any of us are surprised anymore with the annual personnel changes in the office technology space is beyond me, but the e-mail that press and analysts received on May 1 from Toshiba President &amp; CEO Mark Mathews stating that he was leaving Toshiba on May 3 after 20 years with the company was a big surprise.<\/p>\n<p>In the e-mail he noted that \u201cAfter lengthy discussions with my family and for a wide variety of reasons, personal and professional, we feel now is the appropriate time to transition to the next chapter in our lives. I leave TABS knowing the organization is in solid shape and on a trajectory of continued success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I spoke with Mark on Thursday afternoon May 2 and he offered some additional insights into his departure although most underscored his e-mail.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly what I\u2019ll do, but I\u2019m not going to show up at a competitor or open up a dealership,\u201d he said while adding that this was a personal and family decision.<\/p>\n<p>Mark underscored his e-mail comments that he will remain in Orange County, primarily for family reasons, which pretty much precludes other options on the OEM side of the business since those companies are concentrated on the East Coast.<\/p>\n<p>In his e-mail, Mark outlined a number of accomplishments and current initiatives that any CEO would be proud to leave as a legacy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0TABS finished FY12 with revenue growth and increased profitability.<\/li>\n<li>TABS\u2019 dealer sales finished FY12 up dramatically versus the previous year.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0This summer TABS will launch a new generation of A4, high-speed color, and digital signage products.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0FY12 marks another year of double-digit growth in TABS\u2019 MPS and professional services businesses. The company\u2019s investment in MPS continues with the next generation of Encompass launching the first half of the year. TABS is also embarking on a major initiative to enhance its MPS back office.<\/li>\n<li>TABS has been acknowledged as the BTA \u201cManufacturer of the Year\u201d and with MRC\u2019s \u201cFirst in Class\u201d award.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Besides those recent accomplishments and initiatives, I asked Mark about the accomplishments he was most proud of over the course of his 20-year career at Toshiba, going back to the days when he was a product manager. One of those was being closely involved in the transition from analog to digital. \u201cThat was a 10-year transition,\u201d recalled Mark.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also proud of the company\u2019s transition to color and the growth of the Toshiba Business Solutions (TBS) channel, which came about mostly through acquisition as well as the team that is now in place to carry on the many initiatives that began under his helm.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a bittersweet decision and he acknowledges that he\u2019s going to miss his co-workers as well as the many dealers in the Toshiba dealer network that he worked so closely with over the years. As one might expect since the announcement of his departure he\u2019s been receiving volumes of e-mails and phone calls wishing him well.<\/p>\n<p>Taking over for Mark as interim CEO until a permanent CEO is named is Noboru Sawada.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, Mark plans on taking a much needed break and spending more time with his family while emphasizing that this is not a retirement.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, Mark was a terrific source for me during his tenure at TABS going back to his time as a product manager. He was one of the most personable and accommodating executives in the industry and it was always a pleasure to speak with him. His candor and insights will be missed\u2026for now\u2026however, I look forward to reconnecting with Mark should he decide to return to the industry. I wish him luck, whatever direction he takes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why any of us are surprised anymore with the annual personnel changes in the office technology space is beyond me, but the e-mail that press and analysts received on May 1 from Toshiba President &amp; CEO Mark Mathews stating that he was leaving Toshiba on May 3 after 20 years with the company was a big surprise. In the e-mail he noted that \u201cAfter lengthy discussions with my family and for a wide variety of reasons, personal and professional, we feel now is the appropriate time to transition to the next chapter in our lives. I leave TABS knowing the organization is in solid shape and on a trajectory of continued success.\u201d I spoke with Mark on Thursday afternoon May 2 and he offered some additional insights into his departure although most underscored his e-mail. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly what I\u2019ll do, but I\u2019m not going to show up at a competitor or open up a dealership,\u201d he said while adding that this was a personal and family decision. Mark underscored his e-mail comments that he will remain in Orange County, primarily for family reasons, which pretty much precludes other options on the OEM side of the business since those companies are concentrated on the East Coast. In his e-mail, Mark outlined a number of accomplishments and current initiatives that any CEO would be proud to leave as a legacy: \u00a0TABS finished FY12 with revenue growth and increased profitability. TABS\u2019 dealer sales finished FY12 up dramatically versus the previous year. \u00a0This summer TABS will launch a new generation of A4, high-speed color, and digital signage products. \u00a0FY12 marks another year of double-digit growth in TABS\u2019 MPS and professional services businesses. The company\u2019s investment in MPS continues with the next generation of Encompass launching the first half of the year. TABS is also embarking on a major initiative to enhance its MPS back office. TABS has been acknowledged as the BTA \u201cManufacturer of the Year\u201d and with MRC\u2019s \u201cFirst in Class\u201d award. Besides those recent accomplishments and initiatives, I asked Mark about the accomplishments he was most proud of over the course of his 20-year career at Toshiba, going back to the days when he was a product manager. One of those was being closely involved in the transition from analog to digital. \u201cThat was a 10-year transition,\u201d recalled Mark. He\u2019s also proud of the company\u2019s transition to color and the growth of the Toshiba Business Solutions (TBS) channel, which came about mostly through acquisition as well as the team that is now in place to carry on the many initiatives that began under his helm. It\u2019s a bittersweet decision and he acknowledges that he\u2019s going to miss his co-workers as well as the many dealers in the Toshiba dealer network that he worked so closely with over the years. As one might expect since the announcement of his departure he\u2019s been receiving volumes of e-mails and phone calls wishing him well. Taking over for Mark as interim CEO until a permanent CEO is named is Noboru Sawada. In the meantime, Mark plans on taking a much needed break and spending more time with his family while emphasizing that this is not a retirement. Personally, Mark was a terrific source for me during his tenure at TABS going back to his time as a product manager. He was one of the most personable and accommodating executives in the industry and it was always a pleasure to speak with him. His candor and insights will be missed\u2026for now\u2026however, I look forward to reconnecting with Mark should he decide to return to the industry. I wish him luck, whatever direction he takes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[82],"tags":[238,341,348],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4939"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4942,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4939\/revisions\/4942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}