UK-based print MIS software specialist Tharstern (Kennesaw, Georgia) has appointed 20-year printing industry veteran Chris Burn as its new Product Manager. The role was previously delivered by Tharstern’s Keith McMurtrie, who will continue to play a part in the future direction of the company. The new role was created in response to the continued growth of the company, its expansion into the United States, and a number of new developments to its modular, customizable print MIS solution.
According to McMurtrie, the position was essential to deal with an increase in new development requests from existing customers. “As we always say, each MIS is different for every customer, and we’re getting more and more requests to adapt the MIS to suit customers’ specific processes. This is where Chris’ new role comes in. While we do have a large in-house development team, its capacity is limited, and we need to decide which improvements we must prioritize. So, it will be Chris’ first job to create a ranking system.”
After 18 years’ experience in the printing and graphic communications industry, Burn decided to move into the MIS side of print and started working at Tharstern in 2015 as part of its sales team. After developing an in-depth knowledge of the MIS product and the company itself, he moved into account management. To start with, the role will involve management of enhancement requests from its support team, as well as its consultants and customers.
“I was handed a pretty big to-do list on day one, so I’m not short on things to get started with,” Burn recalls. “After I’ve worked out the ranking system for enhancement requests, I need to spend some time getting into the details of all our ideas for the future. This role will allow me to spend the necessary time to investigate them fully, get input from our customers, and start on some design ideas with the team before getting the developers involved. There’s lots to do, but I’m very excited about the challenge ahead and the difference the role could make to the business,” he added. Tharstern was formed more than 30 years ago and now has over 700 customers and 7,000 users worldwide.
Tharstern appoints Burn to new Product Manager role
