Rod Duncan, has retired as managing director of Prodir Ltd, a position he held for 19 years.

Whilst the brand was already established in Switzerland and Germany, Rod founded Prodir’s UK operation, based in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, in 1993 and took the prestige marque from being unknown in the UK promotional sector to being the leading pen brand.

Rod’s career in the promotions industry spans 30 years, having worked previously for major brands including Sanderson, Imperial Chemical Industries, Rothmans and Berol. Success in the promotions sector led Rod to be invited to join the board of the British Promotional Merchandise Association and more recently he served as Chairman of Promota, a position he held from 2007 until 2010.

Although now retired from Prodir, Rod is not leaving the industry and has recently accepted a position as consultant for Kernow Plusfile of Cambridge, an established distributor of promotional products, responsible for sales of Burger Pens in the UK, with further consultancies still under discussion.

Speaking of his recent retirement and his future, Rod says: “Being responsible for establishing Prodir as a major brand name in the UK promotions market has been a milestone in my career and a very satisfying achievement. However, I am now looking forward to new challenges within the industry.”