By James Wells
Sharp Corporation of Australia deputy managing director, Denis Kerr, called a staff meeting this morning to announce his unexpected retirement from the company after 14 years at the end of September.
“It has been my decision and on my terms,” Kerr told Current.com.au.
“I will miss Sharp very much, but I am at the point where I need to re-evaluate my priorities and establish the next stage in my life.”
“Even though the market is atrocious based on all of the reports I am receiving from the trade, the future is very positive within Sharp. We are a brand that is not looking to play at the commodity end of the spectrum and we will continue to deliver profit to retailers in important product niches,” he said.
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Kerr joined Sharp after 14 years with Toshiba where he worked in national sales and marketing roles within its electric imaging department. Kerr was headhunted to join Sharp in 1997 to the position of corporate director within the information systems group. He was later promoted to executive director and then to deputy managing director in 2002. Kerr also served as managing director of Sharp’s New Zealand subsidiary for six months.
Kerr has confirmed that while he is retiring from Sharp, he will not be retiring altogether and is currently investigating other opportunities.
A replacement has not been announced at this stage.