Comments from Tim Phillips on becoming Managing Director of IMI Europe
Tim Phillips
My experience in the inkjet industry dates from November 2007 when I joined Xennia Technology, and my first overseas visit with Xennia was to an IMI Europe event in Lisbon. Since then I have attended almost all the IMI Europe events, and presented and exhibited at many of them. Both IMI Inc and IMI Europe events are clearly of great value to companies wanting to find out what is happening in the industry, and to tell everyone about what they are doing as well. It certainly helped Xennia greatly, especially in its early years.
Mike Willis first mentioned the possibility of my becoming involved over a year ago. It was of great interest, as it has always been an ambition of mine to run a company. The stars started to align over the last summer, and after discussing the details over several late night meetings, the agreement was finalised on 13th September 2015. That proved to be just the start, with a surprisingly complex legal process culminating in the deal completing on New Year’s Eve.
The IMI Europe team, 2016
I am now Managing Director of the company, and Mike is stepping back to a part time role as Chairman in an advisory role, intended to give him more time for reading patents and flying planes! The existing team you know – Kirsty, Christine and Loraine – will be continuing in essentially their current roles.
For those of you that don’t know me, my background is in science and technology: I studied physics as an undergraduate and then did a PhD in liquid crystal material science before moving to the world of semiconductors, where I stayed for over ten years. Over this period of my career I increasingly became interested in the business world, taking on project management and bidding roles. As part of this transition I studied for an MBA on a part-time basis. I finally made the move to mainly commercial roles, which is what led me finally to Xennia and the world of inkjet.
Taking over at IMI Europe is an exciting and somewhat nervous moment, as this is a big change for me. Most people have judged it a good move both for the company and for me, so let’s hope they are right! It’s a great little company with a good business and reputation, so my plan is to build on that while injecting some new ideas and energy. We have already announced a new technical event, the Inkjet Ink Development Conference, in April 2016, and will be making further plans over the coming months.
I look forward to a mutually productive relationship with our partners, speakers, sponsors and delegates.
Happy New Year!
Tim Phillips, January 2016