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Interview
Carl Rysdon
For my entire career, I have been committed to the retail technology space,” begins Carl Rysdon, Vice President of Retail Industry Vertical at Ricoh.“ I started off in loss prevention, where my mission was to help retailers avoid theft, which eventually led me to broader retail solutions. Three years ago, I joined Ricoh to develop and drive our retail vertical strategy, a priority that remains central to our business to this day. Presently, I lead the part of our organization that serves top-tier retailers, including industry giants and half of the NRF 100.”
Throughout his three years( and counting) at Ricoh, Carl has developed his very own leadership style, characterized by his dedication to inspire teams and motivate others to excel.“ My secret to successfully inspiring my teams is to align around a shared purpose and drive that forward together. Fostering extensive collaboration, my team and I constantly share useful information and insights with each other. Sales is a competitive environment, so it is crucial for everyone to recognize that they are part of the same unique team. As such, we help each other succeed, communicate openly, share some use cases and examples,
and simply work together as one. With this approach encouraged across the entire retail team at Ricoh, we are all gathered under a common objective: supporting our retail customers to the best of our ability while continuously learning about each of them. Equally important is allowing individual creativity and finding ways to promote it, a critical way to drive engagement and participation across the team,” he emphasizes.
Under Carl’ s leadership, retail giants are empowered to transform their operations and redefine the way they engage with their customer base. As Carl points out, Ricoh delivers a comprehensive suite of gamechanging services across three critical areas:“ First, we drive digital transformation, by enhancing business processes, making all data actionable, and integrating systems for cost-effective operations. Second, we enable our clients to optimize their workplaces and corporate offices, making them more efficient and productive environments to work in. Third, we specialize in producing in-store solutions, including graphics, printed materials, signage and other related products. As a global audiovisual leader, we are moving beyond basic digital screens to create immersive digital experiences in stores, which are more engaging. For example, some of our solutions allow customers to interact with Gen AI chatbots to obtain product information, view 3D displays, receive personalized promotions, or access augmented reality experiences via QR codes. In essence, we offer various products and services to empower retailers to communicate with customers on their terms through next-generation solutions,” he explains.
With many retailers already embracing digital transformation at varying levels, Carl highlights the benefits of Ricoh’ s technologies and how they are revolutionizing retail operations.“ Retailers juggle countless priorities while
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