Ms Hodgson has joined Signbox after 14 years at Octink. During her time there, she project managed signage contracts whilst running a small team of junior project managers. She then became head of project management, looking after a team of over 20 project managers before taking on the role of general manager at the company in 2020.

Ms Hodgson commented, ‘I have known about Signbox for a long time, and I know they are a forward-thinking company with a fantastic culture for innovation and excellence in sign-making. I am also keen to get more involved in new sectors and products, there is great potential to do this with Signbox.’

Mark Bartlett, managing director of Signbox, said, ‘Hayley brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success in the industry. She has delivered and overseen some truly incredible projects, as well as having an extensive background in account management, business strategy and senior leadership. She will play a pivotal role in taking Signbox into a new and positive era of innovation and success for our company.’

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InkTec Europe says it has grown over the last year as a manufacturer and supplier of large format printers, media and inks and that Ms Thirlby’s promotion reflects InkTec’s expanding operations in the UK, Europe and at its headquarters in South Korea.

Joey Kim, managing director of InkTec Europe, commented, ‘As InkTec continues to grow with new product developments being launched and more in the pipeline, it’s an ideal time for Michelle to assume the role of operations director. Her leadership will be key in further building our business and maintaining high-quality, uninterrupted customer support.’

Ms Thirlby said, ‘I’ve faced a variety of challenges during my time so far at InkTec so far, and this promotion allows me to continue building and developing the operations side of the business to push the company forwards. My core focus will be to ensure continuous operational development and support for our customers, while also working closely with the team.’

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As part of an experienced team, Mr Bladon will help organisations in the print and packaging sectors to harness Konica Minolta’s portfolio of digital print solutions. 

Mr Bladon has been working in the product and industrial print industry since 1987, where he began his career in the print room as an equipment operator. During a career in print spanning more than 35 years, he has held senior sales, business development and account management roles in the UK and Australia, specialising in delivering hardware and software that meet the changing needs of print businesses. Between 2012 and 2014 he was a senior account manager at Konica Minolta in Australia. 

Mr Bladon commented on the importance of selling products which he is knowledgeable in. ‘I am a printer by trade, so having confidence in the product I sell to print businesses is extremely important to me,’ he said.

‘Konica Minolta has a strong reputation for delivering innovative and reliable equipment that do their jobs effortlessly. The company offers commercial print companies a truly impressive portfolio whether they are looking for creative embellishment techniques, high-quality short-run label production, or high-volume digital inkjet print runs.’

Jon Hiscock head of production and industrial print at Konica Minolta stated, ‘Mark brings a wealth of experience from across the industry to our specialist team. His appointment is a sign of our commitment to the sector, as well as a response to the strong interest we are experiencing for our product portfolio, support, and services, as organisations recognise how truly transformative our digital solutions can be for their business.’

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Prior to this appointment, Mr Griggs held the position of board director of sales, leading a team of more than 250 Ricoh sales employees across the UK and playing a ‘pivotal’ role in steering the business’s transition to a digital services company across multiple divisions and service offerings. Under his leadership, the business received numerous industry awards. 

Nicola Downing, CEO, Ricoh Europe, commented on the appointment: ‘I’d personally like to thank Phil for his committed and successful stewardship as CEO of Ricoh UK and Ireland, and wish him well in his new role within the Northern European region. Glenn has a wealth of experience and brings with him a strong vision and history of driving growth. I look forward to working with Glenn and his team to continue driving our people-first approach across all areas of our business.’

Mr Keoghan commented: ‘I would like to congratulate Glenn on his appointment. I’m confident that the UK business will continue to thrive under his leadership, delivering innovative solutions and excellent service to our customers. I am looking forward to working with Glenn and the rest of the leadership team across the region to achieve closer cooperation and driving efficiencies through knowledge sharing and creating additional value for our customers across Northern Europe.’

Following the announcement, Mr Griggs said: ‘I’m delighted to be appointed to the role of CEO. We’re in an auspicious moment for Ricoh and I’m confident we have a bright future ahead. In my role, together with my executive team, I will lead wholeheartedly with a people-first strategy.’

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In the printing and publishing industries most companies are small to medium sized enterprises. This can make it expensive to appoint a single individual to manage environmental sustainability. And smaller businesses are not necessarily equipped to support the role of a dedicated CSO long-term. More sensibly the role can easily be added on to existing functions, such as finance or business development. The CSO remit is to drive the company’s overall mission and commitment to pushing and managing sustainability programmes. But in such a scenario there is a risk of loss of focus, so commitment has to be absolute.

It has to be said that sincere and active commitment to sustainability within printing and publishing and their supply chains is patchy. Sustainability is not universally seen as a top priority in the sector, so making it a core task or responsibility is relatively unusual. Sustainability is on the edge of most managers’ views, even though the whole company might appreciate initiatives to develop a more sustainable organisation and business. Sadly it’s still more theoretical than real. But no matter how large or small the organisation is, all businesses should put environmental impact mitigation front and centre.

How individuals tasked with doing this achieve it depends on the degree of support senior management and other stakeholders provide. Getting and quantifying the right support is obviously the first step, along with capturing budget. After that, a CSO must be able to fully appreciate the sustainability dimensions of all company policies, from HR through to sales and supply chain management. They must also be prepared for continuous and often pretty tedious knowledge development. Concept development plus dogged determination to improve existing habits and implement changes is perhaps the hardest part of the role: it has to be effective and accountable. New ideas for improved sustainability must also meet wider business objectives as well as sustainability goals. Effective communication is central to the role of a CSO, especially when it comes to selling ideas to sceptical colleagues and suppliers. Fortunately this is a two-way street because few managers want to have to keep up with the slippery landscape of environmental regulations. If a business reaches across multiple jurisdictions that aspect of the role becomes even more vital, both for the business and for the planet.

– Laurel Brunner

This article was produced by the Verdigris Project, an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print’s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics, EFI, Fespa, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Miraclon, Ricoh, Unity Publishing and Xeikon.

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A press statement from the US company described Mr Visentin as ‘a visionary leader who navigated the company through unprecedented times and challenges’ but gave no further details on the nature or duration of his condition.

James Nelson, chairman of Xerox’s board of directors said, ‘Since joining the company in May 2018, John drove Xerox forward. As a champion for innovation, he embraced and enhanced Xerox’s legacy as a print and services provider and embarked on a transformative journey that broadened the company’s expertise and offerings to digital and IT services, financial services and disruptive technologies. John’s drive, energy and commitment to the business and its customers, partners and employees will be greatly missed.’

Steve Bandrowczak, Xerox’s president and chief operations officer since 2018, will serve as Interim CEO. He currently develops and executes the global operations strategy for Xerox, the company’s business support functions, including business strategy, product and service delivery and information technology, as well as the company’s newly formed Software and Innovation businesses.

‘We are all greatly saddened by this tragic news and are keeping his family at the forefront of our thoughts in this difficult time,’ said Mr Bandrowczak. ‘John’s vision was clear, and the Xerox team will continue fulfilling it – not only to deliver on our commitments to our shareholders, customers and partners – but also to pursue John’s legacy.’

Mr Visentin was appointed CEO after the ousting of Jeff Jacobson – now CEO at EFI – subsequent to the aborted Fujifilm takeover of Xerox in 2018, following activist shareholder intervention led by Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason. He was then closely involved in the also ultimately failed attempt by Xerox to buy HP during 2019 and 2020, which HP rejected on the grounds that it undervalued the company.

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The graduation and awards ceremony was held in St. Brides Hall in London, and was an opportunity for learners who had completed their courses and made outstanding progress to come together with guests to celebrate all their hard work.

The day included a welcome and congratulatory speech by Ian Wilton, President of the BPIF and address by Karly Lattimore, managing director of BPIF Training, expressing pride in the two years’ cohorts and what had been achieved in such unprecedented times.

Presentations were made for the Victor Watson and Kathy Woodward awards, which are BPIF-recognised awards providing winners with an opportunity to progress their continuing professional development. The Kathy Woodward Award for Learning, sponsored by Webmart, gave the winner £1000 towards courses of their choice, while the Victor Watson Trophy, sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards, provided the winner with a chance to apply for £1500 through The Printing Charity.

Ms Lattimore added in her closing speech, ‘Apprenticeships are one of the most established ways of bringing new talent into the workforce – and one of the ways that our industry can remain competitively skilled in the future. We are extremely proud of all of our apprentices, and we look forward to you being the future leaders in our industry.’.

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The day will being with a welcome from CEO Charles Jarrold, before keynote speaker Kevin Hard takes the stage. Mr Hard, a director at Inspiration-all, will run a session called ‘From managing to leading,’ which will explore the impact of leadership on engagement, business performance, wellbeing and risk worldwide, including engagements in Basel, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Hamburg and the Middle East.

The keynote will be followed by the BPIF’s annual review before, after a networking lunch, BullWall’s executive vice president Morten Gammelgaard will run a cyber session about ransomware. Mr Gammelgaard will outline the tools available to calculate potential financial impact and important considerations that organisations should have when it comes to ransomware. He will also highlight some of the approaches that different organisations are taking to protect themselves.

Before a second round of networking brings the curtain down on the day, Alan Dick, a policy adviser from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial strategy, will share all the latest news that may impact the print industry. Mr Dick has indicated he is keen to hear from attendees about what the Government can do better to support the industry and he will be taking questions which can be supplied in advance.

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Until a suitable replacement can be found, Robin Greenhalgh, Duplo international chairman and CEO, will lead the firm’s UK operations. UK head of sales, Colleen Hankin, will continue to lead the account management team and Kevin Nicholls will continue to provide after sales care.

‘We’re sad to see Andy leave and we wish him every success in his future endeavours,’ said Mr Greenhalgh.

Mr Benson will serve with the company until 29 March to ensure a smooth business transition and prepare the scene for his successor.

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The integration of Oberon’s MPS Monitor technology for remote management of printers and print services with HP’s JetAdvantage management platform is designed to provide businesses with advanced and proactive managed print services support.

The collaboration, which links Oberon’s MPS Monitor technology, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for remote management of printers and managed print services with HP’s JetAdvantage management platform will enable HP printers and multifunction device dealers to access smart device services (SDS) directly from their MPS Monitor portal. HP SDS is a set of cloud tools and device-based sensing capabilities that monitors and diagnoses many service needs to minimise downtime and cut costs.

‘The close relationship with HP and the sharing of Smart Device Services integration give us the opportunity to meet market demands more quickly and more concretely,’ said Giorgio Gesi, CEO of Oberon Service. ‘We expect to continue to integrate all the main features that the SDS platform may make available into MPS Monitor, and release them as quickly as possible.’

‘We are extremely proud to be one of the first to release an integration with HP JetAdvantage Management on the world market, and this will be crucial to increase the value that MPS Monitor provides to HP dealers,’ said Nicola De Blasi, CEO of AB Asset Management, the sister company of Oberon. ‘Now HP dealers who use MPS Monitor don’t have to engage [their] precious technical staff in managing multiple software platforms, as they can carry out all the control and remote management activities extremely efficiently using just one integrated solution.’

‘Because of this cooperation between industry leaders Oberon and HP, HP resellers will be able to maximise HP MFP and printer uptime, improve customer satisfaction, and increase profitability,’ commented said David Laing, worldwide VP of contractual channel A3 devices and services marketing, HP Inc.

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