New print supremo for Blue Star sheetfed in Australia

Sasha Dobrovolsky from California will take over a revamped organisational structure from January 2010.

A slew of management changes at Blue Star’s are part of an ongoing transformation of the company’s Australian sheet printing business. The appointment of a new managing director for the business goes hand in hand with the integration of its DM, offset and on-demand printing services.

Under the new structure state managers in NSW (Kim Lykissas) and Victoria (Glenn Draper) will be responsible for all sheet printing and report to the new managing director. The restructuring coincides with the departure of several senior management figures including Mike Shanahan and Nick Notaras. Matt Aitken remains driving print management.

According to Chris Mitchell, managing director, Blue Star, the moves can be seen as part of the implementation of a carefully planned ‘Agile’ strategy designed transform the business. “It’s about moving the industry forward, building longevity into printing. We expect the end result will be an unmatched solution for our customers,” he said.

Underpinning the Agile strategy is a massive IT infrastructure build that Mitchell promises will change the way the industry works. With a rollout in Q3 next year, he says the aim is to enhance the overall customer experience in terms of responsiveness, flexibility and cost effectiveness.

Dobrovolsky comes from the US with a reputation as an innovative print entrepreneur, having founded and developed Epac Technologies, a digital printing firm with international reach located in Silicon Valley. On its website it describes itself as … a leading provider of mission-critical, advanced printing and logistics solutions for the high technology industry. ePAC delivers high-performance, digital work-flow solutions, featuring global document management, end-to-end printing, and cost-effective print-on-demand services for Fortune 100 and Internet companies. ePAC is headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Dobrovolsky has already accompanied Chris Mitchell on an extensive national road show introducing the new structures and strategies to the company's customer base.