Fred Soar new president of PrintNZ

Soar Print managing director Fred Soar is the new president of the New Zealand print association PrintNZ, with Jill Cowling, CEO of Blue Star, and Morgan John, GM at Spicers, also joining the board.

Soar succeeds Tony Sayle, who has been president for the past four years. Sayle remains on the board as immediate past-president. Soar will be in the role for an initial two years, followed by two more, at the 113 year old association.

Soar Print is one of the leading print businesses in New Zealand and has pioneered environmentally-friendly commercial printing in recent years, winning numerous awards. The company is this year celebrating its centenary, 100 years of continuous printing.

Fred Soar featured in the latest episode of industry podcast, The Print Files, in the Leading in Print series, speaking on leadership, decision making and what not to worry about. Click here to listen or download for later.

Blue Star CEO Jill Cowling succeeds Tony Antoniadis of Oji Fibre Solutions, who has retired form the industry, while Spicers general manager Morgan John is the new supplier representative, succeeding Richard Hislop of BJ Ball Papers.

After paying tribute to retiring president Tony Sayle, Ruth Cobb, CEO of PrintNZ said: "We are deighted to have Fred Soar as the new president of PrintNZ. He is a well-known, well respected and vastly experienced printer, who will be a temendous advocate for the industry."