[Leica] I chatted with the new Leica CEO tonight

[Jay Burleson]

The Leica Store in Bellevue, WA had it's grand opening tonight, and 
Oliver Kaltner, the incoming CEO, was there, along with a host of other 
Leica USA folks.
I had a chance to chat with Mr. Kaltner for about 15 minutes, one on one.
Things of interest he said:
His background is very strong on customer service and one of his goals 
is to make an experience with Leica CS the best in the industry. He 
feels that it will be difficult in the short term to shorten wait times, 
due to trained staff concerns, but he wants to make sure that once an 
item is in for repair Leica goes beyond the industry normal in quality 
of service.
He also said too many new items were leaving the factory not in 100% 
condition and too many items are not correctly repaired before being 
sent back to the customer. Correcting that will be a priority.
He also changed the normal Leica schedule of having a "road map" meeting 
from once a year to quarterly. The first quarterly meeting will be the 
week after he officially takes over as CEO (April 1st). He said Leica 
needs to be more nimble and wants the company able to respond to 
legitimate customer needs, with regards to lenses, cameras, and software 
updates, in a quicker fashion.

He seemed very well versed in Leica history and products. He held his 
own in a discussion about the differences between the 1(A) & 1(C) 
Barnack cameras, and also regarding the merits of the latest generation 
APO ASPH FLE lenses vs. Mandler era designs.

All in all, I think, if allowed by finances, will bring some good things 
to Leica.

Jay