Business News
THE MAN FOR THE JOB
Thursday 11. February 2010 - George Clarke celebrates his 25th anniversary with Heidelberg and attends Ipex 2010 as the shows president next May. So just who is George Clarke?
Opinionated, ethical, witty and customer-minded; these are some of the verdicts on George Clarke, president of Ipex 2010. He is managing director of Heidelberg UK and he argues that it is this role, heading up the largest graphics supplier in the UK, that gave him the credibility and confidence to take on the Ipex 2010 advisory and ambassadorial role.
George is a leading light within PICON, the graphic arts suppliers organisation in the UK, which sold the Ipex show to exhibition organiser IIR Exhibitions, an Informa business, in 2006. He still believes that was the right decision, leaving PICON to provide an advisory, lobbying and networking service and letting the experienced international exhibition specialists run this prestigious show which attracts a huge number of overseas visitors. Nevertheless he says that PICON must continue to support the show to the hilt.
Trevor Crawford, event director of Ipex, says: “George probably has more experience of major trade shows, such as Ipex, than anyone else in the industry. He has always shown great loyalty and support to Ipex and been very much part of its international development. His knowledge and understanding of the industry is second to none and his no nonsense approach makes him an excellent barometer of what will, and what will not, work.”
Ipex runs at the Birmingham NEC from 18 to 25 May 2010, timing which could just be right in the economic cycle and will certainly provide printers from around the world with much-needed direction on technology and how it will affect their businesses going forward.
This is Georges sixth Ipex. Its a show he loves with all its design, marketing, financial, logistical and commercial challenges and rewards. Since his first Ipex in 1993 he has always been with Heidelberg, initially as finance director but then as sales director and managing director.
But Georges destiny in print was not obvious from an early age. Holiday jobs included work as a forklift truck driver at a local Kent jam factory (and hes admired the skill of forklift drivers ever since) and a stint at the British Museum, reflecting his lifelong passion for history.
His father was in advertising in the days when Fleet Street was the home to the UK national newspapers. He sought his fathers advice on careers only when his mother was pressing him to go into law, something he was determined to avoid. Accountancy, it was agreed, would give him a good basis for any business and so he joined KPMG, qualifying in three years and quickly moving into industry and reporting at board level at 26 years of age with responsibility for 900 people within Beaufort Sea and Air Equipment.
His next move was a blind alley and feeling that the company and his position was insecure he decided to look about for an alternative, not least because his wife was expecting the first of his four children.
Heidelberg UK was looking for a finance director. The Brentford HQ building was brand new and he was impressed by Wolfgang Gorth and the team of UK directors. He was called back for what he describes as “the toughest interview of my life”, where he had to convince Heidelberg group executives Messrs Zimmerman, Dosch and Schlayer (a trio he still admires) as well as the UK directors that he was the man for the job. He did, although he counts himself lucky that no one noticed that he had put on odd shoes that morning!
He is still respected by the current Board. Bernhard Schreier, CEO, says: “George is a sharp and fast thinker with comprehensive business understanding and a never give up mentality. He is challenging, trustworthy and very humorous but it is his integrity, industry experience and empathy with printers that makes him a good choice for president of Ipex.”
Just before Ipex, on 1 May 2010, George will celebrate his 25th anniversary with Heidelberg, a period of personal growth and development. It was former managing director Wolfgang Gorth who encouraged George to move from finance to take on the sales directorship (from fact to fiction), believing that without frontline experience he could not be effective at the top.
For George it was the right move. “Selling is a fantastic job, meeting a rich variety of people. There have been individual sales successes which have given me great pleasure. Winning customers back from the competition is one of the greatest highlights; its like welcoming back one of the extended family.
“I thoroughly enjoyed that role and having moved from finance director to sales director, the step from sales director to managing director was relatively straightforward. Being managing director means providing leadership and, being opinionated, its relatively easy for me to make a decision, even if sometimes Im wrong.”
Printers respect him. Roger Pitt, managing director of magazine and commercial printer Headley Brothers, says: “George has extensive experience in the printing industry and has successfully steered Heidelberg UK through changing market conditions. As part of an international graphic arts group he has a global perspective and he is well respected by staff, customers and even competing suppliers. He is a quietly effective figurehead for Ipex 2010.”
The printing industry has changed a good deal over the last quarter century. Then there were thousands of printers, car parks were filled with Ferraris and Porsches and a 6% discount was considered excessive. Today the printing business is more serious, there are fewer companies and printing presses churn out undreamt of quantities of print. Its still a business George loves and which he would recommend to youngsters, which he does through the charity PrintIT! which, in partnership with Fairtrade, promotes good design and print work in UK schools.
If you meet George at Ipex here are a few pointers on his views and interests. The man he most admires is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the worldwide web, which has transformed lives and the printing industry. He gets irritated by the lack of investment in skills and training in the industry, especially when equipment is unfairly blamed for problems. He is faddish in his hobbies and currently digital photography (including post production work), Roman history and cycling are in the ascendance with lawn mowers, yes really, and family tree research taking a back seat.