FRESNO, Calif. (January 18, 2022)—Sunrise Medical, a provider of advanced assistive mobility solutions, announced the appointment of Jim Black as RGK’s Business Development Manager for North America.
Black has over 30 years of sales, product management and marketing experience in complex rehab technology specifically focused on made-to-measure manual mobility. A three-time Paralympic athlete, Black truly understands the benefits of a made-to-measure product and the impact it has on anyone that uses a chair as their primary means of mobility. He will be responsible for managing the sales of RGK in the North American territory for Sunrise Medical. He will be highly involved with the strategic and tactical development of specific product programs and oversee the ordering of every RGK chair.
“Our family of products will experience more change in the coming year than it has in the previous decade. As we enter this era of truly outside-the-box thinking, we know past victories don’t guarantee future success. That is why we do what we do and how well we do it matters, now more than ever,” said Larry Jackson, president of Sunrise Medical Americas. “Bringing innovative solutions to the market and to the people who use our products is part of Sunrise’s and Jim’s DNA. By helping riders get the best out of their made-to-measure mobility and continuing to develop exciting new products that exceed our customers’ expectations, Jim will be a great addition to the Sunrise Medical family!”
“As a chair rider, Paralympic athlete, and industry veteran Jim has a very rare skill set that makes him the perfect person for this role,” said Josh Anderson, VP of business development for Sunrise Medical Americas. “He understands first-hand how a better fit allows a rider to get the most out of a made-to-measure chair. He can visualize that next evolution of made-to-measure technology and work with the team to develop that innovation. He has proven his ability to do just that time and time again within our industry. I considered Jim a mentor and am thrilled to be working with him again.”
“This is a dream job for me, and it is amazing to be back at Sunrise where I started my career. The RGK mission matches my passion within this industry,” said Black. Living in a chair is a lifestyle and RGK has many of the right answers to meet individual needs for custom ultralightweight manual mobility. I can't wait to help people get in the proper product, as this is critical to support an active lifestyle. I know Sunrise Medical. Larry and Josh’s vision is to be the resource within this customer base. Building a product around the rider is the answer. We are all unique with different needs, and that’s why made-to-measure is the key to a successful fit. Nobody in our industry can do this better. That's why bringing RGK products into North America will be such a huge benefit to riders, clinicians and dealers.”
Previously, Black served as the director of business development/director of sales for NuMotion. In this role, he was responsible for the NuMotion Gateway Region, creating business organically, directing and managing ATP’s and developing and executing education initiatives. Prior to joining NuMotion Black was Permobil’s manual product and marketing director and before that the director of sales Western Regional for TiLite Manual Wheelchairs. In these positions, he was instrumental in providing input on the development and launch of all the company’s new manual products.
Before joining TiLite, Black was manual and sport product manager for Invacare/Top End in charge of design, product planning, research and development and was responsible for the worldwide development of all Manual & Sports chair products. Prior to his position at Invacare, Black worked at Sunrise Medical for 16 years in a variety of roles from sales to marketing and ultimately as Global Sports Product Manager.
Visit sunrisemedical.com for more information.
