Brough joined the Birmingham-based business in 2019 and has helped to steer it through a period that has seen the industry disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit.

In a joint statement sent to Printweek from Brough and Thomson, Brough commented: “After two years at Bakergoodchild I have decided to make adjustments to my work-life balance and step back from a full-time role.

“My intention is to seek out some non-executive director positions and continue with my consultancy business, Brough Consulting. This will primarily be within the industry I know and love, but I will also be exploring other opportunities where my skills and expertise can make a contribution.

“During my time at Bakergoodchild, together with the board we transformed the business from just a print and mail operation to a provider of multiple products and services. We restructured all departments and invested over £2.5m in software and machinery to bring about efficiencies in production and improving IT processes.

“We expanded the range of products and services by introducing creative services, multichannel communications – email, SMS, e-archiving, hybrid mail and groundbreaking document tracking services such as RightTrack.”

Last November the company also acquired direct mail, print and fulfilment company Send DM, as part of its 2021 Growth Strategy.

Brough is currently completing a handover and in their joint statement the pair said Thomson “will now step in as managing director to take the business forward for the foreseeable future”.

“There is a strong management team in place and the company is now geared for rapid growth,” the statement added.

Thomson will be supported by a team that includes Frank Barr, who will remain with the company as finance director. Former sales director Adam Stafford left the business separately in an unconnected move earlier in the summer after starting a new job as sales director at Peterborough-based print management company PremCom.

Prior to joining Bakergoodchild, in 2018 Brough had stepped down as CEO at Opus Trust Marketing, after almost five years in the top job.

He had occupied a number of positions at the business since joining as client services manager in 1996, before moving on to be director of business development, and then head of Trust Post. Prior to that he worked as a production manager at the Sheffield premises of vehicle manufacturer Spinflo.