Brendon Land is new name in the Rational UK hotseat
Rational UK’s new managing director is Brendon Land. He aims to maximise the business growth potential by building on the great foundations Rational already has and forging even closer relationships with new colleagues, customers, and supply channel partners.
Land will take up his role on July 1st, 2022. He brings a wealth of international management expertise at the highest level to Rational UK. His last post was general manager with Honeywell UK, where he was responsible for leading the UK and Nordic teams. Previously he held key operational and management positions at major international brands including Fluidra, Epson and Samsung.
He joins Rational at a challenging time, when unprecedented orders for the company’s market leading cooking systems are counter balanced by the supply chain issues that are affecting the whole foodservice equipment industry. However, Land is unfazed, saying, “Global volatility and constrained supplies are going to be with us for some time to come, certainly through the remainder of 2022. As we move forward, we may enter a phase of moderation as the raw material delays, logistics and high transportation costs are factored in. This will give us improved visibility which will allow Rational to manage demand better, which should improve certainty around lead-times.
“Right now, it’s about supporting our customers even more than before, and helping them to forecast and plan their orders further ahead.”
A key element of Land’s business strategy is to grow sales of the iVario Pro in the UK. “Foodservice operators are crying out for cooking systems that can mitigate problems like staff shortages, rising food costs, consistent quality and the spike in energy bills,” he says. “The iVario is a solution for these challenges. What’s more, thanks to some inspired procurement of components by our colleagues in Germany, we have access to stock of the iVario within 10 weeks or less. Its time has come.”
The search to replace Rational UK’s previous managing director, Simon Lohse, has been a long one. Götz Sauer, Executive Vice President EMEA for Rational AG, says the wait has been worthwhile. “We wanted to get the right person, and we have,” he says. “Brendon is exactly the type of leader to navigate the UK business through the current challenges. His proactive approach with other blue-chip corporates demonstrates his ability to ensure the Rational UK business remains successful and continues to grow”.
Land adds, “My team and I are committed to continuing to serve and support our customers tirelessly to enable them to grow their businesses. Over the coming months, I plan to spend a significant amount of time meeting with our customers and business partners to better understand what they love about Rational and how we can support them better.”