“After eight years of unprecedented growth and profitability, the time has come to hand over the reins to a younger person who can take the business to the next level,” says Chambers. “During the next few weeks I will be working with Andy to ensure a smooth transition.”
Chambers describes his 20 years with Fuji Xerox Australia as the most memorable of his business career. Under his leadership, the company achieved a record $630m in revenue for the financial year 2005/2006, making it the largest Fuji Xerox operation outside of Japan. He was also instrumental in changing the image of Fuji Xerox from one of a copier company to that of an ICT services company, providing document management solutions and leading edge digital technology to the Australian market.
Chambers has championed the role of digital printing and, in particular, variable data printing in effective customer communications and direct marketing, as a dominant trend in the graphic communications industry.
In addition, he has spent years researching the Knowledge Management movement with his counterparts in the US and Europe. As a result, Fuji Xerox Australia developed and launched new software, hardware, services and solutions to help clients create effective knowledge-sharing environments at work. This has been a key driver in the establishment of a successful Document Management Outsourcing Division (Fuji Xerox Global Services) that counts more than 50 blue-chip companies in its client list.
As CEO, Chambers has also been instrumental in leading the call for more environmentally friendly recycling programmes with the objective of producing ’waste free products from waste free factories’.
In 2000, Chambers officially opened the Fuji Xerox Eco Manufacturing Centre in Sydney, which is not only a showcase of the company’s initiatives to remanufacture and recycle, but also delivers substantial benefits to the bottom line. The Centre has achieved ’world benchmark’ status in Xerox for its rapid expansion of new programmes and its ability to develop remanufacturing programs that are also profitable and achieve quality equal to or better than the new manufactured product.
Chambers is a firm believer that ’what is good for the environment is good for business’. He has long been an advocate of corporate social responsibility and has initiated a number of programs that involve Fuji Xerox staff working directly with local not-for-profit organisations.
During his eight years as managing director and CEO, Fuji Xerox Australia has become one of the key players in the Graphic Communications market with leadership positions in most, if not all, of the key strategic markets in which it operates, particularly in the area of high speed digital colour printing and office colour printing.
“Under Andy’s leadership, Fuji Xerox Australia will continue its strategic direction, retaining our strong market position and meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations,” says Chambers.
Born in Britain, Chambers joined Rank Xerox 35 years ago as a sales analyst in the Marketing Division of the London-based UK Company.
In 1986, he moved to Australia with his family to take up an appointment as marketing director of Rank Xerox Australia and in 1998 he was appointed managing director and CEO of Fuji Xerox Australia.
A resident of Terrey Hills in Sydney, Chambers graduated from the UK’s Bristol University with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Statistics. He is a keen sportsman who runs every day and plays golf regularly.
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