Oliver had worked at Heidelberg since 2013 and was vice-president of digital printing solutions, where he drove its expansion into inkjet with the Gallus Labelfire and B1 sheetfed Primefire presses.

He joined Illinois-headquartered Dover Corporation last week.

Dover had sales of $6.8bn (£5.3bn) last year. Its Engineered Systems division includes textile printing specialist MS Printing Solutions; JK Group which incorporates ink suppliers J-Teck, Kiian and Sawgrass Industrial; and software firm Caldera which was acquired by Dover in a €35m (£29.5m) deal last month.

MS Printing Solutions claims a market-leading position in textile printing, and showed its first soft-signage device at Fespa this week.

Coding and traceability specialist Markem Imaje is also part of the Engineered Systems division, but does not fall under Oliver’s digital printing group remit.

Dover’s sales in printing and identification were in excess of $1bn last year.

Oliver said he was excited by the prospects in his new role. “Dover has tons of expertise in chemicals, systems, integration and software. When all those things connect the sky’s the limit,” he said. “Dover has already taken some steps and sees the potential for digital printing in a range of industries. The goal is a broader strategy to aggressively attack certain market segments.”

One industry observer said: “This is a very interesting move because Dover is awash with cash and is highly acquisitive.”

At Heidelberg, Oliver's role will be taken over by Montserrat Peidro-Insa who joined the manufacturer just before Drupa last year. Heidelberg said she would retain her responsibilities for the Primefire product line and introduce a new “matrix structure” at Heidelberg’s digital wing.

“I had a fantastic four years at Heidelberg and I’m excited for the team there as they take those products to market. I’m sure they will continue to do great things,” Oliver added.