Branislav Zivkovic has been appointed as MD of Lexmark International South Africa, replacing Hans Horn, who recently resigned.
Zivkovic comes to South Africa from the position of director of Global Sales Operations in the consumer product division at Lexmark's head office in Lexington, Kentucky.
Since joining in 1996, Zivkovic has been with Lexmark in a variety of capacities. He started his career with Lexmark in Switzerland in marketing and spent over two years in channel marketing in Germany.
He then moved to Lexmark's global headquarters as the worldwide business development manager, from where he moved to the consumer products division. Here he has filled various senior positions until his decision to take up the South African experience.
"I feel my diverse global business experience within various environments and cultures has prepared me well for my move to South Africa. A big part of my work has been to set up, enable and support our worldwide sales team, where I had to learn how to work with, and manage, people from all over the globe. I have some applicable background to offer; however, I am looking forward to what I can learn from the South African business environment and team," he says.
Zivkovic says his objective is to sustain the current success of the local subsidiary. "The South African team has done a tremendous job of growing the local business and the Lexmark brand while integrating into the global organisation.
"My task at hand is to continue and maintain this current success. Lexmark is a firm believer in giving back to our society from which we draw our strength, and I am committed to identifying new and additional ways for Lexmark South Africa and the team to get involved in the local community through our Siyaphambili Initiative, and to make a difference in other people's lives.
"Lexmark products follow the same philosophy: we want to make a difference in our customers' lives. Our products are designed to make their daily lives a little bit easier, so they can focus on more important things. Our latest consumer product, the X9350, features automatic two-sided printing and wireless network capabilities, while our business products are admired in the industry for the easy-to-use touch-screen which makes sometimes complex tasks, like paper-saving options, an easy "touch the screen" exercise," he adds.
Zivkovic is a Swiss and US citizen of Yugoslavian descent and was born in the city of Basel in Switzerland. He holds a Masters degree in business and economics, and is fluent in Swiss, German, French, English and Serbo-Croatian. He is the father of two boys, four and five years old, who reside in Lexington.
He concludes: "I am excited to experience the South African way of life, from a personal, professional and cultural point of view. I am looking forward to meeting the local players and partners, and to continue building on the strong business friendships that have been established."
For further information, please contact Louisa Craig at telephone (011) 244 2650; fax (011) 244 2629; e-mail louisa.craig@lexmark.co.za.
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