Troels Volver, CEO of Martin Professional, Inc., is celebrating his ten-year anniversary at Martin Professional, with over six of those years at the helm of Martin US.
Troels, a Danish native, started at Martin's international headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark in 1994 when the company looked much different than it does today. Back then he led an international sales department made up of only a handful of people. "No one would argue that this company has changed dramatically in the past ten years," Volver stated. "Products, philosophy, attitude, it's all different. Back then we were a 'fly by the seat of the pants' company, a scanners and smoke machine company - we didn't even have MACs to sell. Today, we've developed into a mature player in this industry with a strong corporate identity and strong corporate culture that is customer focused."
Things accelerated quickly for Martin in the mid-90s with the addition of regional sales managers, an expanding distributor network and large yearly increases in sales. Volver moved to Singapore in 1996 where his stint as managing director of Martin Singapore was characterized by strong sales growth. In January of 1998 he moved to the US office where he has led a dramatic expansion of Martin US, nearly tripling sales turnover since 1998 as Martin Professional's largest subsidiary.
And what about the celebration? Volver doesn't make a big deal of it, preferring a quiet toast with his US team. "A couple of beers and some pizza," he says.