Introducing Karl Johnson - UK Business Development Manager for the North

We were delighted to recently expand our UK sales operations with the appointment of Karl Johnson as Business Development Manager for the North. We spoke to the newest member of the team about why he chose Rioned and his aims and ambitions in the new role.

Though the new role is Karl’s first in the drainage sector, he is no stranger to the water industry, having previously worked in sales of pipeline solutions to local water authorities, Tier 1 contractors and sub-contractors nationally.

Karl says the new position at Rioned was very attractive and will provide a great opportunity to develop professionally: “After initially speaking with UK Sales Director Mark Cox, I was excited to take on a new challenge working with an international company.”

“My previous job was based in the UK with little international reach,” he says. “The Rioned network is vast, and it makes you realise just how big the world is.

“It’s been a brilliant first few weeks and I’ve loved it. Rioned is an immense organisation, and everyone has been very supportive since I joined the company.”

“I like that there’s no typical day with Rioned, and it’s quite a diverse role,” he explains. “One day I may be in the business hub doing administrative work or customer calls, the next day I could be demonstrating products, handing over equipment or doing follow-up appointments.

“I see the job as an extension of Mark’s current role and his success in the UK. He’s done a brilliant job and one of the main reasons that I took this role was because I liked his ambition to build on the company’s position as a global market leader.”

Karl recently attended the IFAT exhibition in Munich and had his first taste of demonstrating Rioned products alongside his colleagues.

“It was a bit of a trial by fire,” he confesses. “But it was great to meet and work alongside the Rioned group and to demonstrate equipment to customers from across the world.

“It was also good to get a feel for the equipment, such as the zero-emissions eCityJet, which is a really important innovation in the industry.

“What’s important for me in the short term is to gain a full understanding of the products and my role in the company,” he says. “But ultimately, the aim is to grow Rioned and the sales team and be more prominent in the UK market.”

We look forward to hearing more from Karl and wish him success in his new role.

Get in Touch with Karl

Call: +44 (0) 7511 177937

Email: [email protected]