Clarke joined the business as finance director, subsequently becoming sales director and then, in 2000, managing director. Last year as part of his preparations for retirement he stepped back from his UK role to work on Heidelberg’s global go-to-market strategies.

"I’ve been planning this for a long time," he said. "Much as I enjoyed my job and the people, I wanted to make sure I could have a good life after retiring, as I’ve seen too many people who don’t manage that."

Clarke will make a brief appearance at Drupa in order to tie up some remaining loose ends and say a few farewells. "It will be nice to be able to say goodbye to people in person," he added.

Heidelberg UK sales director Jim Todd said Clarke’s energy, enthusiasm and passion for the industry would be missed by all who had worked with him: "He’s a tremendous advocate of new technology that makes offset competitive in the modern world, and he’s also incredibly competitive – as anyone who remembers the sales conference mountain bike challenge will testify! George doesn’t do nine-tenths of anything; he only does eleven-tenths."