Guido Jacobs assumed his new position on Tuesday (1 April), taking over the role from Yusuke Mizoguchi, who has retired after 40 years with Canon and six years as managing director of Canon UK & Ireland.

The manufacturer said Jacobs brings more than 30 years of expertise to the role, prior to which he spent 10 years leading the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) as Imaging Technologies and Communications Group (ITCG) country director, where he led the successful integration of the regional ITCG businesses across the region in 2016.

During this time, he was also instrumental to the growth of Canon’s wider ITCG offering, where he focused on cameras and inkjet printing devices.

Having also held the role of ITCG country director for UK & Ireland in 2014, Canon said he would bring a refreshed perspective to its core business and build on the company’s reputation in the local market.

Jacobs said: “I’m excited to take on this new challenge and lead the UK & Ireland team at such a pivotal time in the evolution of the printing and imagery industry.

“I’ve always been proud to work for Canon as a leader at the forefront of innovation, and it’s an honour to continue and build on the inspiring work of our leadership and wider teams.”

Shinichi ‘Sam’ Yoshida, president and CEO for Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), added: “Guido brings invaluable experience engaging with Canon customers across different regions and has a proven track record of leading local teams with an integrated strategy.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with him and the Canon UK & Ireland team as they facilitate this transition and work towards our ambitions for growth.”

Yoshida started in his role on 1 March 2025 and succeeded Yuichi Ishizuka, who was retiring after seven years in the role.

He was previously based in the US where he held the position of executive vice president and general manager of Canon’s marketing strategy unit, chairman and CEO of Canon Solutions America, Inc. and Canon Financial Services, Inc.

Yoshida has taken over a regional sales organisation which has operations in 120 countries, employs around 12,300 people, and contributes about a quarter of Canon’s global revenues annually.

He has been tasked with bolstering existing core businesses while capitalising on Canon’s reputation and expanding into new areas such as B2B imaging, industrial and commercial printing, and information management offerings.