As well as taking on the role of chair, Mitchell’s fourth non-executive role since he stepped down from Astron last year (see below), Mitchell has also taken a “reasonable” stake in the £150m (€220m) turnover group.

He said: “I was impressed with the management team. It’s well-managed, with efficient production facilities.

“I have an understanding of the products and hopefully I will bring some wider experience.”

Mitchell’s involvement with EDS began late last year, prior to the firm’s 3i-backed MBO last month. He is expected to take up his role once the deal has won regulatory approval.

EDS has 12 sites across Europe in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. According to Mitchell, the firm is looking to expand into areas such as Romania and Ukraine.

The role continues his relationship with 3i, which began in the early days of Astron, which he founded 11 years ago and sold to RR Donnelley for £520m in 2005.

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MITCHELL'S NON-EXEC CHAIRS
DX Group parent of PE-owned mail firms Secure Mail Services and DX Services
M2 Digital PE-backed Manchester document support services provider
Virtual Print Room Services Irish digital print start-up
Euro-Druckservice central-European web printer