Canon’s New Head of HR: “People are our Greatest Asset”

Debbie Brown has been named as the new Head of Human Resources at Canon, a global imaging, optical and industrial technology business.

Upon taking the new role from Caroline Price – who held the position for over a decade – Debbie shares that her focus will be on developing employees' “skills and capabilities” required for a “modern” and “agile organisation".

Debbie, who has more than 25 years of dedicated HR experience within Canon, will lead the organisation’s people and organisation strategy across the EMEA region, utilising her “proven track record” of driving employee engagement and business growth, particularly in developing markets. She has held a range of roles in both national sales organisations and headquarters environments.

“I’m delighted to be taking on this role at such a pivotal time of external change and how this impacts business performance,” Debbie said in a statement. “Collaboration is essential, and I firmly believe that our people are our greatest asset. 

“My focus is on developing the skills and capabilities needed for a modern, agile organisation, while evolving our strong culture to support high performance, drive productivity and efficiencies, and ensure our employees remain at the heart of our success.”

Canon EMEA’s president and chief executive officer, Sam Yoshida, also expressed his excitement for Debbie’s new appointment. 

She said: “Debbie’s extensive experience across our business, and her recent success in driving organisational growth in key developing markets, make her the ideal leader to guide our people strategy forward. We are pleased to welcome her to the executive leadership team.”

Caroline Price's legacy at Canon

Debbie will be taking the place of Caroline, who held the head of HR for EMEA title for more than 29 years.  

Over her almost three-decade tenure, Caroline worked her way up the business, where she was the HR director for almost 20 years.

During this time, she was responsible for all of Canon’s HR Operations in its European headquarters, and in the UK & Ireland National Sales Organisation. During this period, Canon’s employee count was approximately 2,100, with an HR team of 20.

From here, Caroline was promoted to Canon’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources – a position she held for a decade before moving on to focus on coaching and development.

Canon: a history of working together

Canon, a global provider of imaging technologies and services – from cameras to commercial printers, and industrial equipment to healthcare technologies – operates its EMEA strategic headquarters through Canon Europe. 

With a presence in 120 countries, Canon Europe contributes approximately one-quarter of the company’s annual global revenue.

To this day, Canon continues to stay true to its corporate philosophy Kyosei set when the business was originally founded in 1937 – ‘living and working together for the common good’. 

As a result, Canon Europe prioritises sustainable business growth, focusing on reducing its environmental impact while encouraging its customers to reduce their footprint by using Canon’s products, solutions, and services.

The business’s “desire to continuously innovate” has remained a key driver of Canon’s mission to “constantly redefining the world of imaging for the greater good.”