What’s at the top of your Christmas wish list this year?
That the word ‘Brexit’ is never spoken again!
As the decade draws to a close, what trend (business or technology) do you think the 2010s will be remembered for?
The move away from single-use plastic. I don’t think there has ever been one area of focus that has affected businesses across so many different sectors and given rise to such strong feelings and a call to make changes from customers.
What do you think will represent the single biggest opportunity for printers in the next decade and why?
Introducing print technology and substrates that will allow customers to be much more sustainable and produce a much wider range of products that are fully recyclable.
What do you think will represent the single biggest threat for printers in the next decade and why?
Sustainability. Like many companies, our customers are increasingly looking at what we produce and how we produce it and expect us to be able to demonstrate that what we do has minimal environmental impact. It’s going to be increasingly important that printers are able to invest in equipment and technology that allows them to deliver print that meets higher and higher standards for sustainability. Companies that can’t do that won’t survive.
What’s the one thing that the industry should do more of, or do better, in the 2020s?
Stop seeing print buyers as the enemy of printers and realise that neither buyers nor printers can be successful unless we work together. Printers should take the opportunity to promote what they can do for buyers that buyers may not even have realised they need yet.
What was your biggest disappointment in the 2010s?
The election of Trump.
What was your highlight of the decade?
Flying in a spitfire and having sole control for nearly 5 minutes before looping the loop and doing a victory roll!
From a work perspective, being the first high volume magazine in the UK to make the move to paper wrapping. It’s not often the RHS leads the way in publishing.
What are your hopes for 2020s?
That we see an end to dodgy pre-packs that allow failed business owners to dump their debt and just carry on regardless.
That people realise that we need to support the UK book printing trade much more if we want to see it survive and thrive.
That I continue to enjoy working in print as much as I have done during the 2010s.
What was the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Be true to yourself and your values. People will like you or not like you but what is important is that you can look yourself in the mirror each day and know that you are living your life in a way that you’ll look back on and be proud of when you are old.
What if anything will you do differently in the new decade?
I say it every year and then it never happens – get out of the office and make more visits to printers, as it’s a very useful way to see what new developments there are and to build supplier relationships.
What is the earliest Christmas present you can remember receiving as a child?
A small brown dog with a red collar that walked forward, barked, then did a backwards somersault. I think it’s still in a cupboard at my mum’s as I can’t bear to throw it away.
Are you making any New Year's resolutions? If so, what?
You never know what is round the corner so my resolution is to continue to enjoy my life as much as possible now and not to put things off until later as later may not come.
