Jim Hartshorne joins the business from DHL Supply Chain, having worked at DHL businesses for more than 15 years in increasingly senior roles, most recently as managing director for its retail and consumer operations.
Hartshorne takes over from Jeremy Walters, who was recently promoted to CEO of Paragon’s global operations at the same time as the former Paragon Customer Communications business rebranded to Paragon.
Hartshorne said he was joining Paragon at a pivotal juncture, as the operation repositioned itself in the market. He took up his new role this month.
“I believe that Paragon’s full potential is still to be unlocked as it scales, and I hope to leverage the skills I’ve gained from my time in the B2B service sector to accelerate its growth trajectory,” he said.
“My initial perception of Paragon was a business full of great people who are passionate about what they do, with clients that glow about the services it provides them. In fact, Paragon’s emphasis on understanding both its people and clients really stood out to me, as I fully believe in the mantra that if you look after your people, business performance will look after itself.”
Walters commented: “Jim has a great supply chain management background, and while at DHL he steered the business through the challenges of the pandemic and delivered transformational projects.”
He said he was looking forward to working with Hartshorne and the other Paragon regional CEOs, “as we seek to get closer to our clients and provide them with exceptional business services”.
Paragon worked with Devonshire Recruitment Agency, also part of the Paragon Group of companies, to conduct the formal search and selection process that resulted in Hartshorne's appointment.
In another promotion at the division, David Phillips has been promoted to COO of the Paragon UK and Ireland business. Phillips has worked at the business for nearly 17 years, and was previously managing director of its Dagenham supersite.
Paragon is the biggest division in the €1.46bn (£1.3bn) turnover Paragon Group and has sales of more than €1bn and 25 manufacturing sites across Europe.
