HARPER FAREWELLS PRINT, PASSES BATON ON

After a career that spanned half a century, Visual Connections CEO Peter Harper said farewell to print last night, passing the baton on to the association's new executive general manager, Karren Challoner-Miles.

Industry suppliers, Visual Connections staff, and friends sent him off at an evening soiree, held at the Deckhouse in Woolwich, where tributes were fulsome for Harper, who began in the industry 50 years ago at his father's sign and engraving business LRL, and went on to create industry trade expos, consolidate the suppliers associations, and lead the unified body into a much wider remit than purely looking after their interests.

Harper told Print21 that the achievement he was most proud of was Visual Connections engaging with young people, to encourage them to have a career in print, through various initiatives he has instigated in recent years. He said, "Our involvement in the careers exhibitions has been so good, our stand attracts the largest amount of youngsters – after the Army, which has a huge budget – and we are seeing apprentice numbers rise as a result." Lead partner in Visual Connections' push to give sign and print a higher profile to schools, John Watters from AusSIP (Australian Schools Industry Partnership), was among the guests.

Of the multitude of major changes to occur during his half century in print Harper said, "The biggest has been the successful entry of commercial print businesses into sign and display. I was speaking at a sign conference 15 years ago and told the delegates that commercial print businesses have a strong sales focus, that they are looking for new revenue streams, and that new digital technology enables them to print sign and display, and that they will be moving into sign and display, and so it has proved. Sign and display printshops are often smaller than commercial printers, and not so sales focused."

Looking to the future of print, in which he will not be involved – Harper is not planning to take on any consultancy roles in his retirement – he was optimistic, pointing to the opportunities in labels, packaging as well as sign and display. He said, "Trade shows are a tougher sell, but while the last PacPrint had lower numbers, the sales figures on the stands were up, reaching $50m in total. I think this will continue in the future, people come to trade shows now to buy, not just to have a look around."

Harper is planning to have a rest for the first 12 months of retirement, doing some travel and spending time with his six grandchildren (not so restful), before deciding on his next move, which will likely be in a voluntary capacity with one of the charities he is involved with.

Leading tributes to Harper from the podium was Visual Connections president John Wall, who listed some of Harper's many achievements, including creating the world's first virtual trade show when Covid wiped out actual expos for two years. Wall said, "He has made an enormous contribution to our industry."

Sarah Moore, general manager, trade shows and events at Visual Connections said, "Peter has been a leader in the true sense, first on site at major events we are producing, looking after the welfare of the Visual Connections staff, and coming up with new initiatives."

Harper's wife of 49 years Jenny also spoke, recounting how they met at LRL, were married 18 months later, and had four children. She said, "He has been in this industry for so long because he loves his work."

Finally Harper himself – famously preferring to be in the background than the forefront – addressed the crowd, he said, "I've been in the industry for 50 years, and loved every one of them. Revealing he was feeling emotional with all the tributes he said, "I'm looking forward to retirement, but it scares the hell out of me." He also said, "Visual Connections has tremendous people involved, both the staff and the members, I know it is well placed to serve the industry, and I am happy to leave my role in the capable hands of Karen and Sarah."

Challoner-Miles has already started working at Visual Connections. She was chosen from a shortlist of five candidates for the role, and brings extensive experience in marketing, brand management, and product leadership to the role.