imagine.change. is more than just Ricoh’s tagline. It’s the ethos that our employees embody so that they can focus their imaginative thinking to drive change. Over the next few months, we’ll be featuring a series of articles about Ricoh employees who have actively changed their communities, teams, and workplace for the better. We consider them to be the true Ricoh Change Makers.


With more than 30 years of service, Ricoh’s former President and CEO Glenn Laverty is no stranger to change. His recent retirement marks the closing of a significant chapter in Ricoh’s history during a time of even broader economic and social change, triggered by the spread of COVID-19.
As a former Ricoh dealer, Glenn’s background in sales taught him the value of adaptability and evolution. These skills helped him attain several leadership roles across the organization. From building the Marketing organization to managing Ricoh Document Management (Ricoh Canada’s first Services business), leading Sales and finally as President and CEO, Glenn has relied on his ability to embrace and cultivate change.
Throughout his tenure, Glenn focused on ensuring Ricoh’s unique position within the marketplace and continued growth. The organization that Ricoh is today reflects his leadership and commitment to the ever-evolving needs of Ricoh’s customers through workplace innovations.
While responsible for the Direct operations, Glenn knew Ricoh wasn’t considered a “threat within the marketplace,” and so, he challenged Ricoh Canada’s  leadership team to shift from an inward to an external focus – one that was entirely on the customer. Part intuition, part sales experience, Glenn knew this was the change Ricoh needed.
Glenn and his team set about establishing the ‘MyCustomer’ program which focused on providing a marketplace differentiator based on the customer experience. The program was designed to fulfill all aspects of Ricoh’s customer needs and creating a culture of highly engaged employees was key to its success. When Glenn first assumed his role as President and CEO, he further recognized that the organizational culture needed to change. Delivering an Exceptional Customer Experience through highly engaged Employees became Ricoh’s mantra.
The combination of Glenn’s efforts towards creating a more engaged employee culture and practicing a customer centric approach has since been recognized year on year through Ricoh’s Net Promoter Score.
Glenn’s ability to understand the evolving needs of Ricoh’s customers continued as his vision began to realign with the changing pace of innovation. Mindful of the possible erosion of the print business, Glenn once again led change within Ricoh. In 2012, the organization shifted its core business to Services-led offerings. “At the time, we still hadn’t defined which Services we would be in. But we did know we needed to fortify the sustainability of the organization.”
Glenn’s leadership in expanding Ricoh’s focus from traditional hardware to Services has served both Ricoh and its customers in navigating the challenges of COVID-19. “As I look towards the future, and the business marketplace in Canada which is full of uncertainty the one thing I am absolutely certain, without a doubt in my mind, is that Ricoh Canada will be there.” By defining the ‘new normal’, Glenn is confident Ricoh will identify an accelerated path of opportunity for its Services business.
It’s a proud moment for Glenn as he reflects on the progress Ricoh has made. “The idea that a few short years ago we used to contend with customers telling us ‘I didn’t know you did that’ to today where we have customers asking ‘What else have you got?’”
Since implementing this change, Ricoh has generated valuable data and insight about its Services business. This has inevitably helped Ricoh support customers in their own digital transformation.
Glenn is excited about the changes that come with retirement and in planning for this next chapter of his life, he says, “I am going to look for things to do that will help somebody else whether it be in the business world or in my local community. I have an interest in giving or providing whatever counsel I can.”
Ricoh Change Makers embrace the meaning of imagine.change. by asking themselves ‘How can we imagine and create change for the better?’
As a Ricoh Change Maker, Glenn has led positive change within the workplace not just for Ricoh employees, but for the customers we serve, partners we support and communities we are part of.
Are you a Ricoh Change Maker? Learn more here.