28 Oct. 2024:James Cropper has announced two senior appointments: Richard Broadhead (COO) and David Stirling (CEO).
(1) James Cropper has announced the appointment of Richard Broadhead as chief operations officer for Paper & Packaging.
Reporting into CEO, Steve Adams, Broadhead will have leadership responsibility for all elements of production and supply chain along with process improvement and customer experience.
The appointment follows James Cropper’s major transformation programme including operational modernisation and rebranding.
According to the company, changes have already resulted in greater productivity in paper making with the advanced materials and paper products firm due to achieve targeted annual cost savings of over £2m, alongside investment in a new CRM to better serve customers.
Steve Adams, CEO of James Cropper, said, “Richard was the natural choice to support the next phase of James Cropper’s bold growth strategy. He brings with him a wealth of commercial experience and a track record of exceptional leadership and spearheading change programmes.”
“As we position James Cropper for future success, Richard will play an essential role in client services, business expansion, and strengthening our culture, as well as pushing the boundaries of what’s possible within the paper and packaging industry.”
Broadhead, who was previously supply chain & operations director at James Cropper, has held a number of senior positions in FMCG, retail and hospitality. His career has centred on manufacturing and operations.
Broadhead said, “My career began on the factory floor and it’s incredible to now be a part of James Cropper’s evolution from Victorian mill to global market leader.
“The team at James Cropper is driven by a constant need to innovate and together we’re committed to delivering groundbreaking solutions for our customers. I’ll be harnessing this ambition and exploring opportunities to invest in and develop our offering and people.”
(2) 29 Oct. 2024: James Cropper has lined up a new CEO to replace Steve Adams, who will step down next year.
Adams joined the group in 2017 as managing director of its Paper division, and took over as CEO in August 2022.
He intends to retire and step down in early 2025.
James Cropper said that following a rigorous search process it has appointed his successor – David Stirling will join as CEO designate in January and will become CEO after a handover period with Adams.
Stirling is a chartered accountant and was most recently the long-serving CEO at £127m turnover listed cellular materials group Zotefoams PLC. He worked at the company for 27 years, initially joining as finance director.
He stepped down in May and has been working on consultancy projects since.
Stirling has also been a non-executive director at Macfarlane Group since the beginning of this year.
James Cropper non-executive chair Mark Cropper thanked Adams for his contribution to the group and for helming the PLC during a challenging period. He said he was delighted to welcome Stirling to the business.
Cropper commented: “David has a proven track-record for delivering growth in materials businesses by developing new products and entering new markets across a variety of end-uses on an international scale.
“I am confident that his strong leadership and strategic outlook will harness the strength and value of our products and services across our global markets and diverse customer base.”
James Cropper filed a pre-tax loss of £5.3m in its most recent financial year to 30 March, when sales slipped to £103m from £129.7m.
However, in a recent trading update it said it had made a positive start to its new financial year.
The business, which makes high-end paper and packaging materials and has a growing advanced technical materials wing, will celebrate its 180th anniversary in 2025.
James Cropper’s share price went up by 8%, or 15.99p, on the news to 215.99p (52-week high: 828p, low: 180p.)
Jo Francis, PrintWeek