On October 30, 2003, IKON Office Solutions announced that Michael Kohlsdorf had been appointed Vice President of Professional Services, reporting directly to IKON's Chairman and CEO, Matthew J. Espe. According to IKON, Mr. Kohlsdorf will provide leadership and direction in developing a services portfolio and go-to-market strategy for IKON's Professional Services, which include a wide range of document management services, document assessments, customized workflow, and application development.

This announcement comes on the heels of T/R Systems’ acquisition by EFI that will be finalized November 3rd. Kohlsdorf will remain with T/R Systems during the month of November to assist EFI with the transition, starting the new position at IKON December 1.

In an interview with WhatTheyThink, Kohlsdorf indicated he was slated to remain with EFI in a senior management position that was in the process of being defined. However, after having been contacted by IKON relative to the Professional Services opportunity, and having had extensive discussions with both IKON and EFI, he opted, after consulting with EFI, to make the move to IKON. “I see this as an outstanding opportunity,” said Kohlsdorf. “This is a mature industry, and most players realize that the one area that appears to have significant growth potential is professional services.” Kohlsdorf indicated that EFI management was supportive of his decision, and he also believes that, with IKON as one of EFI’s largest customers—as well as being a large T/R Systems customer—his move to IKON will benefit both organizations. “From a personal perspective,” Kohlsdorf added, “after a number of years running a small company, I was pleased with the opportunity to refresh my ‘big company’ experience in this role reporting directly to Matt Espe, for whom I have developed a lot of respect.” Interestingly, Kohlsdorf was employed by IBM for a number of years prior to assuming leadership of T/R Systems, and in fact worked for Bill Urkiel, IKON’s current CFO, as Director of Financial Planning in IBM’s San Jose CA operation.