Richard Comely has been promoted to the newly created position of Director, Marketing and Product Management and Gina Putnam has joined from Bernhard and Company to take the role of Marketing Communications Officer.
Ransomes Jacobsen, the turf maintenance equipment manufacturer has announced a further top-level promotion to the senior management team and the appointment of a Marketing Communications Officer at its headquarters in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Richard Comely has been promoted to the newly created position of Director, Marketing and Product Management, reporting to Managing Director, David Withers. In this new role he will be responsible for all marketing and promotional activities across Ransomes Jacobsen’s recently expanded territory that includes Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions. He is also responsible for all new products scheduled to come on stream in the near future and the continued development of existing products.
Richard was a Technical Sales Representative for Ariens Company in Europe for many years and joined Jacobsen UK as a Technical Service Manager in 1997. Following Textron’s purchase of Ransomes in 1998 he was appointed to the role of Product Manager in the new Ransomes Jacobsen organisation. He spent two years studying for a Textron Six Sigma Black Belt and more recently helped develop a more measurable method of understanding end user unmet needs, helping the business to develop more customer focussed products.
Further strengthening the Marketing department is the appointment of Gina Putnam to the role of Marketing Communications Officer. Gina was born and raised in Southern California and is a graduate of the University of Kansas. She began her career working with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) in 2002 to promote professional development and educational standards for golf course superintendents worldwide.
During a business trip to England in 2005, she was offered a position with Bernhard and Company, manufacturers of the Express Dual and Anglemaster grinders. As Marketing and Communications Manager she has focused on brand building and product awareness opportunities for the Bernhard team. A keen sports enthusiast her interests include playing golf, jogging, hiking, biking, travel, snow-skiing, water-skiing and scuba diving.
“Richard Comely has been with the company for many years and has a wealth of knowledge of the industry and how our products can be developed and marketed across our territory,” said Managing Director David Withers. “He brings further dynamism to the senior management team and I’m confident that he can do a great job for us.
“Recruiting Gina Putnam is also very good for our business. She knows the industry, inside out, and is well respected both here in Europe and in the USA. She is an excellent addition to Richard’s team and will be a very good ‘fit’ with the experienced members of our Marketing department.
“There are exciting times ahead for Ransomes Jacobsen and these latest appointments complete the restructure of my senior leadership team as I position the company for a period of accelerated growth in the short to medium term.”
Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd www.ransomesjacobsen.com