Continuing its initiative to recognise ‘Champions in Print’ who have made a significant contribution to the printing and graphic arts industry, the Ipex 2010 Advisory Committee has named Lord Bob Gavron as the sixth Ipex 2010 winner of this accolade.
Having founded St Ives in 1964, Lord Gavron took the company public in 1985. It consistently outperformed the market over the next ten years, establishing it as one of the largest and most admired printing companies in the industry.
Ipex 2010 Event Director, Trevor Crawford, says, “We are very pleased to give this award to Lord Gavron. As the founder of one of the largest print powerhouses in the world, he’s an avid ‘Champion in Print’ who combined a unique vision for St Ives with his outstanding business acumen.
“Gavron drew praise from his peers and competitors not only for his achievements but also for his fair and generous dealing with staff, customers and competitors. I’ve no doubt that he will continue to inspire many others in our industry to lead their businesses on the path to success.”
Lord Gavron retired as the Chairman of the St Ives Group in 1993. He served as a director of the Royal Opera House and a trustee of the National Gallery, and was also the Chairman of the Guardian Media Group between 1997 and 2000. He continues to contribute his wealth of printing experience to the publishing industry. As the Chairman of The Folio Society today, he oversees its activities in creating beautifully printed editions of great works of literature for its members. He received his peerage in the House of Lords in the UK in 1999 and continues to support the arts.
Lord Gavron says, “I feel deeply honoured to have been given this award. I look back on my years with St Ives with pleasure and with pride. The printing industry was in almost every respect a wonderful environment in which to work. It was a privilege to spend one’s life directly or indirectly in spreading the printed word. We all felt that we were in a rather special business, and I think we had every right to feel that.
“I must also pay tribute to the people with whom I worked. Both those in the wider industry and those, closer to me, in St Ives. From all of them I learnt a huge amount. The St Ives bunch deserve the credit, all the credit, for such success as we had. I was lucky to be supported by such wonderful people.”
The Ipex 2010 ‘Champions in Print’ Awards were launched to honour individuals who have influenced and shaped the printing industry across the world. There will be ten ‘Champions’ in the run-up to Ipex 2010, which will take place from 18th - 25th May at the NEC, Birmingham, UK. Previous winners were Indigo founder and industry pioneer Benny Landa; J.K Rowling, author of the top-selling Harry Potter novels; Professor Frank Romano at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the co-founders of Adobe Systems Incorporated - Dr. John Warnock and Dr. Charles Geschke.
To nominate a living person for the next ‘Champions in Print’ award, complete a nomination form on-line by visiting www.ipex.org/cip. If a nominee hasn’t yet been selected as a winner, he or she can be nominated again. Entries must be supported by a brief summary of the nominee's achievements.
