Prestwich spent nearly eight-and-a-half years at Communisis most recently as director of its group change programme, and prior to that he was head of operations at its transactional business.

He joined Adare SEC earlier this month, with a brief to optimise processes across its four sites and achieve operational excellence.

Chief executive Rachael Nevins praised Prestwich’s breadth of experience and described him as a “very energetic and high paced”.

“He brings exciting ideas to the table and is a dynamic addition to the team,” she said.

The COO role at the business had been vacant since the departure of Barry Crich at the end of March.

“We’ve made some changes to the management team and we’ve got a really good balance now between people who know the market and understand the business, and also some fresh insight with new blood,” Nevins stated.

She said Adare SEC’s owner, private equity house Endless, had just signed off a three-year business plan for the £68m turnover company.

“Our three-year plan has been approved and I’ll be driving that through the whole business. Everyone is very excited about it and the clients will be too," she added.

“Clients are the number one thing – delivering that client-centric perspective to allow our clients to deliver the outcomes they need as a business.”

Adare SEC has sites in Huddersfield, Redditch, Nottingham and Guildford and employs around 450 staff. Its Secure and Essential Communications remit spans outbound and inbound communications and a range of security products, in print and digital form.