Taylor is set to distance himself from the day-to-day operations of the company in favour of a position as technical and strategic advisor to the chairman.

Pierre-François Catte, chairman of CPI, described Taylor's decision to step down as "a defining moment" for Europe's largest monochrome book printer and its UK division.

Taylor will be replaced as the head of CPI UK by François Golicheff, who joins after 13 years as chief executive of digital print equipment manufacturer Riso Europe.

Catte said: "A company such as CPI cannot afford to lose a leader like Mike without ensuring that we can still benefit from his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for this industry."

He added that Taylor would continue to work with CPI to complete the initiatives he had kicked off in the fields of technology, procurement and industrial restructuring, as well as supporting both the chairman and the new CPI UK chief executive in the "evaluation of future industry needs" and the "implementation of solutions".

Since taking up his role as the head of CPI UK, Taylor has been responsible for the development of a management team and infrastructure that the company said had enabled it to "significantly improve [its] standing with book publishers".

For more see this week's PrintWeek.