Three talented, experienced professionals were recently voted on to the Independent Print Industry Association (IPIA) Council to help steer the organisation and enable it to meet its objectives. Tim Carter, a Director at Ricoh, Matthew Ruff, Sales and Marketing Director at Reliance Worldwide, and John Morley, a Director at eProductivity Software (EPS) all help swell the IPIA Council ranks to 17.
In welcoming the three print advocates, IPIA Chairman Graeme Smith says: “2022 marks an incredible year of growth for the IPIA and we’re excited by the energy, insight and diverse knowledge that Tim, Matthew and John bring. We’ve set ourselves some ambitious objectives and their input will be especially invaluable moving forward apace in areas like prioritising ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance), promoting the value of print as part of a channel mix and encouraging a younger and more diverse workforce into the sector.”
John has worked in the print industry for many years, enabling partner businesses to acquire new revenue streams, so he sees part of his role within the IPIA as helping members be more successful at promoting print, especially to newer generations where digital is so prevalent. “Using data to personalise the message is a real priority for print. Digital assets are valuable but the stats prove that the virtual and physical coming together adds greater value and response, so we need to keep pushing that message further upstream with brands, and I can help do that,” says John. He will additionally sit on the IPIA Membership committee and Events committee to help increase membership numbers and ensure business value continues to be derived from IPIA events.
Matthew may not be from a print background, but his experience from British Standards Institution (BSI) and of modernising the international mail, ecommerce and courier industry make him a natural collaborator with it. He understands the challenges of logistics, nationally and internationally, and can support members with implementing relevant technology, transparency, collaboration and account management. He was chuffed to be voted onto the IPIA Council and pledges to help grow membership, and bring more diversity from sectors such as process management. He’s also keen to support quality management: “I’m not going audit heavy, just looking at ways to implement and improve, especially in areas like leaving more positive carbon footprints,” he suggests.
Tim brings with him decades of OEM technological know-how and a strong international network of people and companies. He feels the print industry has shown massive resilience over the years and supports the IPIA’s focus on maintaining that resilience and empowering members to make behavioural and cultural changes in the face of technological advances and other competing digital content channels. “I’m also pretty passionate about the legacy that we, the print industry, leave. I feel we all have a responsibility to promote our sector as dynamic, enjoyable and fruitful in order to attract and entice younger talent to want to invest their lives in it and make it successful too,” says Tim.
Graeme says the IPIA Council is excited about embedding the changes necessary to create a positive national dialogue for print. This is specifically around achieving positive business outcomes as part of overall communications strategies. “The print sector has always faced challenges, but it survives through adaption, knowledge sharing, peer collaboration and finding solutions. With Tim, John and Matthew’s strong networks, I see all three proving a real asset in convincing others that we’re stronger together and of the value that being part of an association like the IPIA can bring,” he says.
