The PIAA has added a trio of print industry heavy hitters to its board, with Digitalpress owner, Theo Pettaras, Opus Group executive chairman Richard Celarc and Eckersley Group managing director Tom Eckersley all joining.
Eckersley says, “I hope to be able to contribute to the industry as it navigates its way through the changes and challenges of the current era.
“I have always been involved one way or another, including in the past through the Regional Councils. Now I am looking forward to working with a great group of people on the board.”
Eckersley is managing director of the Eckersley Print Group, one of the major print business in Queensland, which began operations in 1971, and in recent years acquired several other Qld printers including Nicholsons, Fine Print and The Printing Office.
Richard Celarc is executive chairman of Opus Print Group, which owns Ligare in NSW, McPherson's in Victoria, and CanPrint in ACT. He has been with the company for 40 years, and is the major shareholder.
Pettaras owns innovative Sydney outfit Digitalpress, and is known for his passion for the industry, and a determination to provide creative solutions for his clients. He said, “The industry needs to get its message out there, we need to work together to collectively promote print, we need to show people why print is such a compelling proposition, and as online is becoming less effective through saturation we have a great story to tell.
“I am passionate about print, and I have been through it all, so I have plenty of experience. I will be aiming to bring the print community together, if we are together we are strong. We have much to share with each other. And I want to bring in experts from overseas that we can benchmark against and learn from, knowledge is power.”
The new Board members have gained their spots as long time directors Peter Lane and Chris Seagart have retired from their positions.