Page 42 - Print21 magazine Sep-Oct 2022

Print People
Boyle Barcelona bound
HP ANZ vice president and managing director Mike Boyle is taking a new role, becoming HP's global head of large format go-to-market, and will be one of the few Aussies to have a global leadership position in print.
HP is a pioneer in large format print, and has just appointed Mike Boyle from the pioneer land of Australia as its
new head of go-to-market for its large format print business.
He will effectively head the customer facing part of the business, which encompasses the Latex and DesignJet product ranges. Boyle
has already started the job, and will move to Barcelona at the end of the year for the new role; the glittering city is the epicentre of HP’s large format business.
He has been with HP for the
past seven years, starting as vice president for Asia Pacific and Japan, before taking up the ANZ role four years ago. Prior to that he spent
five years with Canon and the eight before that with Océ which Canon bought in 2010.
His working life has taken him around the world, and has given him a relevant set of skills for the new global role. Boyle spent time
in the Netherlands when he was with Océ, and in Singapore when he was running HP APJ. And thanks to his time with HP, he has a clear understanding of both sides of
the business; the PC world and the industrial sector.
Worked both sides
He said, “I have a background well suited to the role, having worked for both sides of HP and having extensive experience in the graphics sector.”
Barcelona is the heart of HP large format, it is where all the R&D is driven from, where technological innovation and real world print and commercial needs are matched.
Boyle will be one of the few Australians currently sitting in global chairs, no doubt the pandemic has held things back, because as Boyle says, “Aussies and Kiwis have a lot to offer on the global stage. We come from a can-do country, where we are forced to come up with solutions, we have that mindset. Print people in ANZ push the envelope.”
Growth position: Mike Boyle
Looking ahead, Boyle cites several key issues for the company, including sustainability and workflow. For both, HP is already well positioned. The latex printers are water based,
so no tricky solvents to deal with,
and HP already has a strong recycling matrix for its products. Boyle says
we can expect more developments to support sustainable printing. He says, “We will continue with the portfolio, latex will be a big part of that.”
Cross pollination
And for workflow, the PrintOS platform, which has been embraced by HP Indigo users, is also aimed at supporting large print providers. Boyle and HP Indigo vice president Haim Levit go back a long way,
so we can expect to see plenty of collaboration between the two sides of the commercial business of HP. The company’s 3D business is also in Barcelona, and while Boyle won’t have any direct responsibilities, he anticipates cross-pollination.
A global role means dealing with vastly different economies, the
huge developing countries such as India, China and Brazil demanding
a nuanced approach compared with the mature markets of Europe, North America and this part of the world. Boyle says, “When I was working out of Venlo I had some global exposure, so I know how this all works.”
The wide format print sector
was on a 20 year growth journey, interrupted only by the GFC, prior
to Covid. During the pandemic some parts of display print suffered, as the markets closed – expos, sports, retail to an extent, clear examples – while other parts grew – floor graphics and Covid signage among them.
“There is no doubt that for commercial print businesses, wide format still represents a market that they could serve. Graphic displays are in demand.” – Mike Boyle, HP
Boyle says that HP is seeing
the market rebound now, and it is predicting steady growth for the next five years. It says the US$3.4bn wide format print market of today will reach US$4bn in five years time. So, still a land of opportunity then? Boyle says, “There is no doubt that for commercial print businesses, wide format still represents a market that they could serve. Graphic displays are in demand. And we are seeing a speeding up of seasonality, as retailers and brands work harder to turn their stock over. That is good news for printers. The short run poster market will grow.”
That is good news. As print emerges from the pandemic, owners are looking for ways to diversify and grow. ANZ printers are well placed, with Mike Boyle now in Barcelona keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities they face. 21
42 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022