Coxon, who joined the board of the BPIF as a non-executive director in 2013, was elected president in December 2016 after previous president Gerald White came to the end of his two-year tenure.
Coxon will officially take up the unpaid role, which has no fixed-term, at the BPIF Members’ Day on 4 July.
“The main aspect of my role is one of governance, so to make sure that the BPIF is acting in the best interests of its members, and challenging the board and supporting chief executive Charles Jarrold in making sure that their strategic thinking is sound and supporting where I can,” said Coxon.
“We’re making sure that we’re going to be a strong and challenging team moving forward to make sure the BPIF is as fit as it can be for the future.”
He added: “I think the BPIF is very important – it’s harder and harder to run a business these days and I think that most businesses need support, advice, guidance and assistance in finding their way through modern day business issues, in addition to good training programmes to develop and progress their staff to be good print professionals.”
Coxon said it is also important for the BPIF to continue its lobbying efforts within government to ensure print and related industries remain at the heart of government thinking.
“In these ever-changing times, it’s very important to make sure that print is uppermost in the minds of government officials when they are deciding on legislation and key changes to policies and important that print is being considered and not adversely impacted.”
Joining Pensord in 2002 as commercial director, Coxon has overseen the magazine printer’s turnaround from a £6m-turnover loss-making position to a profitable business with a consistent turnover of more than £12m.
In 2010 he led a management buyout of the business with operations director Karl Gater and the business has since won awards including BPIF Print Company of the Year in 2012 and Customer Service Team of the Year at last year’s PrintWeek Awards.
Oxuniprint managing director and BPIF non-executive board member Ian Wilton said: “From my perspective, Darren has brought a level-headedness to the organisation that has been greatly received. He’s a very pragmatic person and I think he is going to make an absolutely fantastic job of being the next president.
“He was certainly very high on the list of people when I was asked who I would like, just really because everything he has done and been involved with in the time that I have known him has been a success.
“I think everybody within the industry wants the BPIF to be a success and I believe he is exactly the right person to take it forward with the challenges that lie ahead, such as the way the industry has got to align itself with what’s going on at a government and at a European level.”
Fellow BPIF non-executive board member, Ryedale Group managing director James Buffoni, added: “I’m very pleased that Darren has accepted the role, I think he’ll be a really strong president. I’ve enjoyed working with Darren to date – he brings a lot of energy, he’s very focused and very passionate about the industry.
“His background and experience will serve him well and I look forward to working with him on the board and getting to know him better as president.”
