UK names Walter Kaihatu as President
UK announced today that it has named Walter Kaihatu as the company's new president. As president of UK, Mr. Kaihatu will be responsible for business and product development; sales and marketing management and have responsibility for and work with the leaders of UK's operations, finance, and production departments in order to insure that the company meets its worldwide sales goals.Mr. Kaihatu joins UK after having spent the last eight years at Streamlight, a manufacturer of lighting products. Most recently at Streamlight, Mr. Kaihatu was the vice president of sales and marketing, a position in which he was responsible for the company's domestic and Canadian sales and marketing efforts. He also held a variety of senior sales and marketing positions at Streamlight, including vice president of sales, and director of industrial and fire business.Before working at Streamlight, Mr. Kaihatu held senior sales positions at Pelican Products, another lighting manufacturer, and Dynamic Isolation Systems.
"I have always felt that UK was a company that developed innovative lighting and case solutions and manufactured high-quality products. I am very excited to join the UK team, and endeavor to help the company reach its short- and long-term sales, marketing and operations objectives."
Mr. Kaihatu has a reputation as a hands-on leader. When new products were launched at his previous employers, he always went into the field and worked alongside his team to learn how the product could help users enhance their productivity and efficiency. Stories abound of Mr. Kaihatu donning firefighting gear with firefighters, learning the proper use of weapons and tactics while training alongside law enforcement and military personnel, worked in automotive repair shops and climbed up power poles and into bucket trucks.
"Walter Kaihatu is a respected, well-known individual in the lighting industry, and comes with a proven track record of impressive accomplishments. His addition will build upon an already strong management team, and will help UK further establish itself as one of the leading companies in the field," said Alan Uke, CEO of UK.
