Xaar has appointed a new group R+D director, Karl Forbes. It has also made Sue LaVerne chief people officer. The company said the newly created roles will assist it in the next phase of its transformation, by adding strength and experience to the wider leadership team to ensure it delivers on its customer-focused strategy.
Forbes, who will report to COO Graham Tweedale, will head up a 75-strong development team, bringing together the engineering skills from across FFEI, Megnajet and Xaar’s printhead business to deliver on its development roadmap, and enable sustainable growth for both OEM and UDI customers.
He has considerable experience in the digital inkjet sector, having worked for Videojet and Inca Digital, and having previously worked at Xaar as part of its technical R&D team in the early 2000s, where he contributed to several developments including its TF Technology. Having worked for Cambridge Consultants and Sepura, his experience in driving multiple large and complex R&D programmes and leading multi-disciplinary teams has been central to the delivery of a number of new product developments.
“Xaar has led the way in inkjet technology innovation for over 30 years and the creativity and passion of our people has been central to this,” said Forbes. “I am very excited to be part of this fantastic team as we continue to innovate for customers and unleash the power of inkjet. By enabling the sharing of R&D best practice and technologies across the Group, our team will continue to develop best-in-class printheads and systems to meet our customer’s needs for today and tomorrow.”
LaVerne – who reports to Xaar CEO John Mills – aims to ensure Xaar delivers on its ambition of becoming an ‘employer of choice’, a key part of the people pillar within the group’s sustainability roadmap launched earlier this year.
Mills said: “I am delighted to welcome both Sue and Karl to Xaar. They will ensure we have the best people, as well as a strong R&D focus, as we continue to drive the development of the next generation of inkjet printheads and deliver our vision of a world where you can print anything you can imagine.”
