Print.IT Reseller - issue 84

PRINTITRESELLER.UK 23 PRINT IT AWARDS 2021 Continued... created Midwich group of companies. For more than two decades, he was the face, figurehead and creative driving force behind the company’s business evolution which saw the group become one of the largest specialist Audio Visual distribution companies, with a presence in seven countries. A few years back, Darren sold his stake in the business, freeing up time to focus on new opportunities and the next challenge in his life. He currently acts as a mentor, advisor and coach for individuals and business leaders; he volunteers for a charity that supports young care leavers; provides business consultancy services and is often asked to deliver keynotes at business events, in academies and charity functions. www.darrenlewitt.com Eric Crump, Director of Strategic Alliances, Ringdale As Director of Strategic Alliances for Ringdale, the inventor of FollowMe printing, Eric leads and develops the strategic alliance activities with global printer manufacturers and key industry analysts. He has over 24 years’ experience working in the US and the EMEA region. With offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Japan, Ringdale has a strong global partner network and established relationships with the world’s leading print manufacturers.In addition to his role at Ringdale, Eric is also a board member and contributor for the Standards and Best Practices Committee for the Managed Print Services Association (MPSA), collaborating recently on the Security Best Practices whitepaper. www.yourmpsa.org Louella Fernandes, Director, Quocirca Louella is globally recognised as a leading authority on market trends in the print, imaging and managed services industry. As an independent industry analyst, Louella provides unique strategic insight and competitive analysis of markets which include managed print services, digital disruption, security and channel trends. Louella has an extraordinary breadth of understanding of the global market dynamic and the rapid changes the print and imaging industry is experiencing. Key areas of current research focus include the growing impact of the IoT landscape on the printing market; why smart multifunctional products should be better leveraged as intelligent, connected devices; digital transformation, managed print services, workflow and collaboration, alongside emerging trends such as augmented reality and 3D printing. www.quocirca.com Brendan Perring, General Manager, IPIA After graduating from Edinburgh University with an MA (Hons) in English Literature and History, Brendan worked as an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of Scotland . Following this experience he moved to Wales and attained a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Cardiff University and carried out freelance work for a number of regional newspapers. Brendan’s next move took him into the printing world as Editor at Signlink magazine and Deputy Editor of Print Monthly magazine. After two years he was promoted to Editor of Print Monthly and then this was shortly followed by becoming Managing Editor of Link Publishing, which owns these national print titles. After helping to found Link Exhibitions, and with the successful launch of The Print Show, which took place for the first time in October 2015, Brendan was made director of Link Publishing and Link Exhibitions. After a spell working in PR, looking after clients in the insurance, marketing, outsourcing and exhibition sectors. Brendan joined the IPIA to take up its newly created position of General Manager. https://ipia.org.uk Jeff Root, UK Country Manager, Mobi Systems Jeff can be described as a true industry veteran. His first foray into the world of technology was back in the day when typewriters and then fax machines were cutting-edge! He has forged a successful career path working with companies including Canon, Samsung, Panasonic, Sagemcom and Philips. Jeff has extensive experience in sales, management and marketing across product categories including print, mobile, telecoms, imaging, scanners, audio visual and IT and has held a number of senior positions within the sector, most recently as General Manager of Sagem UK. Having ‘left’ the industry 12 months ago to lead a Microsoft-led change programme for one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, he is currently Country Manager for Mobi Systems, a pioneer in multi-device, cross-platform mobile app development. www.mobisystems.com Jeff Root Brendan Perring Eric Crump Louella Fernandes