Richard Slee joins from outside the industry and will take up the newly-created role of chief executive officer of Adare SEC on 1 June, while Barry Crich, who is currently managing director of Adare SEC, will become chief operating officer of the division.

Slee was formerly European president at multi-channel technology distribution group Premier Farnell and prior to that was Europe CEO at supply chain specialist TVS. Since the summer of 2015 he has been a management consultant, working with various private equity businesses.

The circa £240m turnover Adare Group has two divisions: outsourced marketing wing Adare International and Adare SEC, which handles outbound and inbound business critical communications for a wide range of clients.

The SEC business has expanded considerably following last year’s acquisitions of Banner Managed Communication and Polestar Applied Solutions.

Adare Group chief executive Robert Whiteside said the business had appointed Slee “after a very rigorous and focused headhunting process”.

He described Adare SEC as being “at the threshold of an exciting new phase in its evolution” and said the new structure would drive further growth. “I wish both Richard and Barry success in their new roles,” he said.

Adare SEC currently operates from four sites: Huddersfield, Redditch, Nottingham and Guildford, although the Guildford site is slated for closure as part of the restructuring that followed the absorption of the Banner business.

Whiteside told PrintWeek: “All affected employees have been notified and the consultation process is current and well underway. The target date for completion of the project is 31October, the end of Adare’s financial year.”

Adare Group brought in Andrew Dutton as chief executive of the Adare International business in November 2016, and revamped the senior management within that part of the organisation earlier this year.