The print industry’s top 50 leaders have been honoured at the 2024 ProPrint Awards.
Held on Friday 25 October 2024 at the Shangri-La Sydney, the ProPrint Awards celebrated and honoured excellence in the Australian printing industry. This year’s event reported record numbers, with more than 365 guests in attendance.
Now in its 14th year, the highly coveted Printer 50 is a peer-voted award, which is independently audited. The Printer 50 recognises the senior leaders and innovators of the Australian printing industry, with this year’s award receiving a record number of nominations. The top 25 leaders are ranked, and the remaining 25 leaders are announced alphabetically.
Keith Ferrel, co-founder and general manager of operations of Sydney-based grand format production company Cactus Imaging, took out top spot in this year’s Printer 50 at the ProPrint Awards. Ferrel, who won the Printer 50 category at the ProPrint Awards in 2022 and placed runner up in 2023, said he was honoured to receive the award for the second time.
“Congratulations to all the [Printer 50] winners. It’s a tremendous honour and I just want to say that none of this would be possible without the staff of Cactus Imaging,” Ferrel said.
Dayne Nankervis, CEO of CMYKhub was named runner up. Nankervis was recognised for his leadership and commitment to business improvement which has propelled CMYKhub to become a cornerstone of the Australian print industry. Nankervis’ strategic investments have been instrumental in this success, launching label printing, expanding wide format capacity with new equipment across all five locations, and with plans to introduce dye-sublimation, inkjet digital, and a state-of-the-art 8-colour Komori RP press into the new CMYKhub headquarters, slated for completion in mid-2025.
Rounding out the top three was Matt Aitken, managing director of IVE Group, who was recognised for leading Australia’s largest diversified marketing company. In the last five years under Aitken’s leadership, IVE Group has grown by more than $250 million to a $1 billion company employing 2000 staff across Australia. In the last 12 months, Aitken and the IVE team have completed the integration of the Ovato acquisition (six months ahead of schedule), executed its move into the folding carton packaging sector through the acquisition of JacPak, and acquired independent advertising and content agency, Elastic.
Christoph Gamper, CEO and co-owner of Durst Group, platinum sponsor of the 2024 ProPrint Awards, said attending the awards and presenting the Printer 50’s top 10 was a “tremendous honour and joy”.
“These awards celebrated the best in print and highlighted young talent and outstanding suppliers. I’m incredibly proud that my team earned three awards – a testament to their dedication and hard work,” said Gamper.
“A huge thank you to the incredible Australian print community and the organisers who made this event so special. Your warmth, passion, and commitment to excellence are the driving force behind the success of the ProPrint Awards. It was a privilege to sponsor these awards, deliver my greetings, and celebrate with you all. And a special nod to team Durst Oceania for their fantastic film, ‘Su Casa es Mi Casa,’ which lit up the stage and captured our spirit perfectly.”
Craig Walmsley, South Pacific Industrial Country Manager, HP Australia, said HP was honoured to be a gold sponsor of the Printer 50, celebrating excellence and innovation in the print industry.
“Our solutions span commercial, labels, folding cartons, and flexibles, and it’s fantastic to see so many of our partners recognised at the ProPrint Awards from all across Australia. Supporting industry leaders and their accomplishments aligns with our commitment to driving forward the possibilities in print.”
Congratulations to this year’s top 25:
1. Keith Ferrel, Co-Founder and General Manager – Operations, CACTUS IMAGING
2. Dayne Nankervis, CEO, CMYKhub
3. Matt Aitken, Managing Director, IVE GROUP
4. Nigel Spicer, General Manager, CACTUS IMAGING
5. Adam Parnell & Andy Fryer, Directors, EASY SIGNS
6. Nina Nguyen, Founder, PAKKO
7. Frank Mezo, Managing Director, MEZOGRAPHIC
8. Yianni Moratidis, Director, GENR8 PRINTING
9. Rodney Frost, CEO, LAMSON PARAGON GROUP
10. Kirsten Taylor, Director, TAYLOR’D PRESS
11. Romeo Sanuri, Managing Director, NEXT PRINTING
12. Debbie Burgess & John Bright, Joint Managing Directors, BRIGHT PRINT GROUP
13. Ewen Donaldson, Director, VIVAD
14. Leon Wilson, Director, REVOLUTION PRINT
15. Marcus Marchant, CEO, VISTAPRINT
16. Paul Wilcockson, Production Director, JCDECAUX GROUP
17. Kenneth Beck-Pedersen & Peter Musarra, Co-Directors, CARBON8
18. Jason Turvill, Operations Manager, EASY SIGNS
19. Marty West, Managing Director, BLUEPRINT DIGITAL
20. Jamie & Jason Xuereb, Co-Founders, MEDIAPOINT
21. Michael Nankervis, Managing Director, ONPACK
22. Kirsty & Luke Woodhead, Owners, BREEN PRINTING
23. Glenn Moffatt, Production Manager, CACTUS IMAGING
24. Aaron Lusch, General Manager, PLATYPUS PRINT PACKAGING
25. James Taylor, Director, TAYLOR’D PRESS
Congratulations to the remaining finalists (in alphabetical order)
Andrew Crump, Operations Director, PEACOCK BROS
Andrew Hall, Managing Director, FACTORY ONE
Angelo Varnakulasingham, Senior Overseer, CORRECTIVE SERVICES INDUSTRIES PRINT
Cliff Brigstocke, CEO – Production & Distribution, IVE GROUP
Clinton Daley, Managing Director, VALIANT PRESS
Dan Bodey, Operations Manager, BOOM STUDIOS
David Walton, CEO, OMNIGRAPHICS AUSTRALIA & MMT PRINT
Dean Boceski, Managing Director, RAINBOW INDUSTRIES
Dominic Borrello, Co-Founder, IMAGEBOX GROUP
Holly Masters, Director, MORGAN PRINTING
James Sultana, Owner, GRAND PRINT SERVICES
Karen Lawler, Sales Manager, CACTUS IMAGING
Mariano Imbrioscia, Operations Production Manager, VIVAD
Melissa Marshall, Director, SIGNARAMA TUGGERAH
Michael Hawkins, General Manager, HAWK PRINT
Michael Jenkins, Director, LITTLE PRINT
Pranil Chandra, Head of Sales, NEXT PRINTING
Samantha Bailey-Jensen, Director, BAILEY PRINT GROUP
Simon Carmody, Managing Director, SPOT PRODUCTIONS
Simon Pugh, Managing Director, QLM GROUP
Stephen Lamont, Managing Director, LAMONT PRINT + SIGNS
Stephen Power, Print Manager, MSP PHOTOGRAPHY
Stuart Gittus, Print Manager, IVE GROUP
Sue Waite, Sales Manager – Signage & Large Format, KWIK KOPY AUSTRALIA
Susan Davies, Chief Operating Officer, MSP PHOTOGRAPHY
Read more about the 2024 ProPrint Awards in the upcoming December issue of ProPrint magazine.
The 2024 ProPrint Awards would not be possible without the ongoing support of the event’s sponsors:
Platinum sponsor
Durst Oceania
Gold sponsors
Ball & Doggett
FUJIFILM Australia
HP
IVE Group
Omnigraphics
Pozitive Sign & Graphic Supplies
Silver sponsors
ABC Copiers
Böttcher Systems
Cactus Imaging
EFI
Graph-Pak
Konica Minolta
Kurz Australia
Lamont Print + Signs
Lamson Paragon
Mimaki Australia
PAKKO
Ricoh Australia
Spicers Australia
Xeikon
Auditing partner
PKF
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