To many, Ron Gilboa is an industry maven, but to the people of KeyPoint Intelligence, he’s a friend, as well as the director of the InfoTrends Production and Industrial Printing Advisory Service team. He began his career in R&D and product management at Scitex almost 30 years ago and has been active participant in the digital revolution that has been propelling our industry through its twists and turns.
The Journey to InfoTrends
While many Americans graduate high school and go on to further their education, Gilboa’s upbringing was different as he grew up in Tel Aviv, Israel. “I was drafted into the military after high school and trained in aerial photography and digital imaging, while completing my degree in industrial photography,” he said. “After my time in the Israel Defense Forces was over, I joined Scitex and specialized in digital imaging, repress workflow and printing.”
After just about a decade with Scitex, Ron set his sights on one of his most rewarding positions, at Cap Ventures, where he was a senior consultant who headed up major projects as well as developing the company’s On Demand Annual Industry forecast. “The company was engaged with Heidelberg and Kodak, assessing customer needs for the NexPress product when it was still under design review in 1997,” he said. “It was also fascinating to help Scitex in its go-to-market planning of the Spontane, otherwise known as the Xerox DocuColor 40, and was helping Indigo develop a TCO assessment tool that helped them offer a compelling product offering in a budding industry.” Spanning about a decade with InfoTrends, Ron—now Director of the On Demand Consulting Advisory Service—took a position with Kodak Versamark as Vice President of Marketing, where his industry knowledge was put to a good use, driving the adoption of inkjet color printing to mainstream transaction, publishing and direct mail applications.”
Pat McGrew, who recently told us about her career at InfoTrends, has been friends with Gilboa for a long time—they’ve even worked together at other companies. “Ron and I have been collaborating on projects since 2005,” she said. “We’ve studied the impact of legacy composition engines and print stream languages. We’ve seen the outgrowth of production, like transactional printing and direct mail. Ron really does bring tons of passion to the table, and it’s been amazing to learn both with and from him.”
Ron Gilboa, Keypoint Intelligence/InfoTrends Director of Production and Industrial Printing Services |
Life at InfoTrends
In 2013, Gilboa returned to InfoTrends armed with plenty of new knowledge after eight years at Kodak. “I’ve played major roles in developing multi-faceted strategies, I have a strong background in industry analytics, and I understand what it takes to move from planning to successful commercialization,” he said. “And in my tenure at Kodak, I became proficient in all manner of inkjet printing in production settings and industrial environments, from printhead design to fully integrated systems.”
Gilboa is aiding BLI in the development of both wide format and 3D print testing. “New business opportunities in industrial printing, packaging, and decorative printing including textile printing, direct-to-garment and woodworking have been some of my favorite industries to track,” he said. “Learning about the emerging landscape of industrial printing and applying my skill to these markets as they embrace digital printing that enables mass customization is interesting and exciting. I enjoy working with a crew of talented professionals—that makes every day in the office a fun day.”
Gilboa’s near 30-year career is a continuum of personal growth, promoting new technologies and knowledge sharing with industry peers, which he enjoys most of all. Speaking at industry events, he gets to educate, share, promote new industry solutions, and make new friends. He’s delivered presentations at drupa, FESPA, IWF and Print4PACK, to name several, and he’s also contributed articles to numerous publications worldwide.
Connect with Ron on LinkedIn, follow him @gilboar or, if you have any questions or comments, please send him an email at Ron.Gilboa@InfoTrends.com.