Macfarlan and Nowell join board at Clays

A year after stepping down from her role as strategic director at printer Clays, following nearly two decades with the company, Kate Macfarlan has been re-appointed, as a non-executive director of the board.

Also appointed in the same capacity is Jonathan Nowell, senior advisor at Trillium Partners, and formerly c.e.o. and president of Nielsen Book.

The appointments come in the wake of the acquisition of the Suffolk based printing house by Italian printers Elcograf, a division of Gruppo Pozzoni, in May.

Clays will operate as a subsidiary of Elcograf, with its own board, meeting quarterly to review business performance and strategic direction. The board will be chaired by Mario Pozzoni of Gruppo Pozzoni, with Paul Hulley - formerly Clays m.d. - now Clays chief executive officer. Maurizio Vercelli, legal counsel at Elcograf, also joins the board.

Hulley will lead the Clays business through his already established leadership team and reporting structures.

Hulley commented: "This structure demonstrates the determination of our new owners to support our business in the fullest possible way, at the same time respecting the particular market conditions, challenges and opportunities here in the UK. Our first four months under new ownership, once more part of a very large and financially robust print group, have been inspirational for us all here at Clays. Now, with their combined experience, knowledge and understanding of the markets we serve, I am delighted that Kate and Jonathan have taken their non-executive director positions on our Board.

"There can be no doubt that the next five years and beyond will see considerable further change across the book industry and the challenge for the management team at Clays is to stay ahead of that market evolution, providing the best and most relevant solutions in the book supply chain. With the ownership and supporting structures we have in place, we are very well positioned to do that."