Phil Oakley has been appointed as the new UK and Ireland Sales Manager for Kornit Digital, an innovative manufacturer of printing solutions for the garment, apparel and textile industries.
As of February 3rd 2020, Phil joins Kornit from HP where he spent 17 years in key business leadership roles. Most recently he held the position of UK and Ireland Regional Business Manager for Large Format Printing, which saw him develop and direct strategic sales initiatives within partner channels and oversee the placement of products in both CAD and graphics markets, as part of the larger HP business.
Founded in 2002, Kornit Digital is a comparatively new brand showing significant growth in recent years. This growth is driven from the changing trends in the marketplace - which is what attracted Phil Oakley to the new role.
"My new position at Kornit is a great opportunity for the next stage in my career," he says. "I have always tried to keep a start-up mentality and that will come into play at Kornit. A 'can do', dynamic attitude helps customers grow - and that mentality has already helped Kornit build a very well-established customer base."
A good example of this is Inkthreadable, a garment printing company that has increased productivity while reducing costs thanks to technology and support from Kornit. A video case study is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIDi-01SXLo
Kornit is ahead of the biggest trends in the textile printing market today: on-demand service, sustainability and customisation. Its line of direct-to-garment printing solutions range from commercial to mass production systems, offering high-quality capacity in short and micro runs for exceptionally fast turnaround and less wastage. Its direct-to-fabric (roll-to-roll) textile printing technology uses one ink set on all types of fabric with no additional finishing processes required, reducing waste water and carbon emissions.
"Across the whole industry - textile, graphics and commercial printing - major players are adopting web-to-print and personalisation, and of course sustainability is a massive driver for change," says Phil Oakley. "It's where future growth in digital textile printing is happening and I'm excited to be part of it at Kornit."
Kathrin Buhl, EMEA Sales Director at Kornit, adds: "We are delighted to have Phil on board. He will bring a great energy to the role and invaluable experience in business development."
