William (Bud) Staples, Jr. has been appointed regional vice president, PDM/FLM and Fashion Solutions for North America. In this new role, Staples will be responsible for sales of the PDM/PLM business throughout all of North America, as well as managing Gerber’s strategic (key) accounts in the fashion industry across the continent. Reporting to Staples will be the PDM/PLM account executives located across North America, as well as the account executives in Gerber’s Northeast region. Bud will be organizing and staffing a new sales support team that will work with the account executives in promoting and selling the WebPDM and Fashion Lifecycle Management products.

Staples has more than 28 years experience at Gerber Technology, most recently holding the position of regional director for Gerber’s North America North region. He has been an active member of the AAFA Product Innovation Council for the past 10 years and is currently vice chair of the committee. “I look forward to the new opportunities that will come with my expanded role at Gerber,” said Staples. “North America remains an important market for Gerber, especially in the product lifecycle management arena.” 

“This assignment for Bud re-enforces Gerber’s commitment to the fashion and retail business in North America in providing the best possible solutions for their product development and lifecycle requirements,” said Sam Simpson, vice president, global sales. “Bud has been an integral part of our success in the apparel industry for many years. His proven leadership and total dedication to the success of our customers will play an important role as Gerber continues to strengthen its leadership position in North America, particularly in the fashion PLM domain.”

In addition, Jeff Rosenzweig has been appointed regional vice president, CAD/CAM Sales for North America and the Caribbean. Rosenzweig will be responsible for the sales of Gerber’s software and system solutions across North America, as well as managing Gerber’s strategic (key) accounts in the industrial sector across the continent. Reporting to Rosenzweig will be the software and system account executives located in Gerber’s Southeast, Midwest and West Coast regions.

“Due to the migration of the apparel manufacturing business overseas, Gerber’s production applications in North America in the industrial sector have grown rapidly and currently represent approximately 60% of sales, stated Simpson. “We are looking to Jeff to increase the growth rate of sales in this sector maintaining our number one position.

Rosenzweig most recently held the position of regional director, North America South. He is approaching 30 years of sales experience with GT and was the first dedicated sales executive to be hired by what was then Gerber Garment Technology. Rosenzweig holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin as well as a Masters degree in Textile Technology from North Carolina State University. “There is a tremendous opportunity for Gerber in the industrial markets as more and more customers turn to automation solutions to stay competitive. I look forward to achieving continued growth in this area,” commented Rosenzweig.

“Both Bud and Jeff together bring nearly 60 successful years of selling Gerber products in North America and are recognized as leaders in their respective fields by their peers. I am confident that in their new positions Gerber Technology will continue its leadership role in North America,” added Simpson.