Part of her new role involves sharing business tips and emphasising the potential of selling more than just ink on paper, she said.

“Print has become a commoditised product that you can buy online. It’s been heading that way for a very long time,” she told ProPrint.

“There are also great opportunities in a print business to differentiate through providing more than just print.

“I know printers want to keep their presses running, but many print managers don’t understand the value in the content they manage,” she said.

Baile joined Fuji Xerox in June after three years as chief executive of Adelaide-based Bowden Group – the first outsider to hold that role since the family-owned company was founded in 1935.

She said she was brought in to lift productivity at a business that was wedded to out-dated practices.

Baile told ProPrint that she had redesigned the workflow, introduced print-on-demand, cut turnaround times, reduced waste, overseen ISO certification and increased productivity on all the presses. Part of the restructuring involved laying off and reassigning staff, she added.

“It was a very challenging time. It was a pretty big gig and not one you could do for a long period of time due to the amount of stress… I left there thinking I had achieved what I set out to achieve.”

General manager Damien Burchell credited the 43-year-old with changing the company’s culture.

“She came in [after] the GFC and restructured the company and was a change agent,” he said.

“She transformed the company from a printing to a solutions company. We had these ideas already and she came in and made them a reality.”

Baile said she had moved on to Fuji Xerox so she could focus on sales management rather than the myriad tasks that confront a chief executive.

She said she had found it challenging introducing her structured style of management to her six-person sales team – and was also learning to fit into a chain of command after spending the past two decades in charge or self-employed.

Baile has remained in Adelaide and is responsible for the corporate, government, education and graphic communications sectors.

Fuji Xerox also recently promoted Simon Lane to the new role of chief marketing officer.

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