Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. Engines and Power Products Division has announced the hiring of Joe Butt to the position of district manager in the company’s sales organization.

Butt will be based in Cincinnati and have responsibility for a territory that includes Southern Ohio, Southern Indiana, Southern Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and western counties of Virginia.

Most recently, Butt was a pharmaceutical sales specialist with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, where he focused his efforts in cardiovascular, metabolic, and gastrointestinal products.  He was one of the company’s top producers in sales of their popular pharmaceutical products and repeatedly won internal awards for his performance.

Prior to becoming involved in that industry, Butt spent more than a decade with Viox Services, Inc., the Cincinnati-based provider of grounds maintenance and landscape services to a number of large corporations.  He was the account manager and site supervisor for the team responsible for Procter & Gamble campuses in the  Cincinnati area, a multi-million dollar annual account for Viox.

Following acceptance of his new sales position with Kawasaki, Butt reflected on his initial exposure to the Kawasaki brand. “I was drawn to the company because we used and requested Kawasaki engines on our commercial mowers while I was with Viox, because their reliability and durability were by far the best in the industry,” said Butt.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in marketing and a minor in management from the University of Cincinnati.