Jolly will leave Duplo UK at the end of August and officially join HP on 11 September, taking over as UK & Ireland country manager HP Indigo and Inkjet on 1 November, with Kimber officially retiring at the end of the November.
“I owe so much to Duplo, they have given me the greatest opportunity to develop as a business leader and as an individual, and Robin [Greenhalgh, Duplo International chairman] in particular has had been a huge influence on my career,” said Jolly.
He became Duplo UK managing director in 2012, prior to that he headed up the company’s marketing before being seconded to its sales team as part of his career development.
“It feels a little like I’m flying the nest, having been with the company for 14 years, and it’s not a decision I’ve taken lightly, but I’m very proud and extremely excited to be joining HP.”
Jolly said he would use his first few months to learn as much as he could about the business, get to know the team and visit as many customers as possible, many of whom he knows from his time at Duplo.
He also praised Kimber’s accomplishments at HP saying that he had “big shoes to fill”.
60-year-old Kimber became head of the UK Indigo and inkjet business in 2013, having been with the business for the previous 12 years in a variety of senior sales roles. Prior to that he had worked for Xerox and Kodak.
While he said he was looking forward to retiring, he said he would miss his many UK customers and his UK team.
“But I’ve been working for the past 44 years and I’ve had a fair crack at things, so I think now is the time to enjoy some of my own time, I don’t think you’ll be seeing me popping up as a consultant for Landa, this is a proper retirement,” he quipped.
“And I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to get Peter to take over the reins. For me, he’s absolutely the right guy to take over, I’ve seen him progress over the years and his style and the way he goes about business means the UK team and the UK market is in very safe hands.”
Kimber’s words were echoed by Duplo’s Greenhalgh.
“It’s a great testament to his great talents, we’re very proud of where Pete’s come from and how he’s grown and been nurtured through the business, but this was an amazing career opportunity for him and we’re just really proud of him.”
“I’ve known Pete for almost 15 years, and when he told me about it – I told him he had to go for it. I’m sure he’ll be an outstanding success in the role.”
He added that he had interviewed some “extremely high calibre candidates” for the Duplo UK managing director role and would be unveiling the new appointment in the coming weeks.
