Xaar has named Karl Forbes as its brand-new group R&D director, with Sue LaVerne as joining as its first chief people officer.
The newly created roles are intended to assist Xaar in the next phase of its transformation and will add to the strength and experience of the group’s wider leadership team, ensuring delivery of its customer-focused strategy.
Mr Forbes has ‘considerable’ experience in the digital inkjet sector, having worked for Videojet and Inca Digital. He also previously worked at Xaar as a member of the technical R&D team in the early 2000s, where he contributed to several developments, including Xaar’s TF Technology. Having worked for Cambridge Consultants and Sepura, his experience in driving multiple large and complex R&D programmes and leading multi-disciplinary teams has been central to the delivery of a number of new product developments and innovative technologies, according to Xaar.
As group R&D Director, Mr Forbes is heading up a 75-strong development team, bringing together the engineering skills from across FFEI, Megnajet and Xaar’s printhead business, to deliver on its development roadmap and enable sustainable growth for both OEM and UDI customers. He is to report to company COO Graham Tweedale,
Mr Forbes said, ‘Xaar has led the way in inkjet technology innovation for over 30 years and the creativity and passion of our people has been central to this. I am very excited to be part of this fantastic team as we continue to innovate for customers and unleash the power of inkjet. By enabling the sharing of R&D best practice and technologies across the Group, our team will continue to develop best-in-class printheads and systems to meet our customer’s needs for today and tomorrow.’
Sue LaVerne has joined Xaar as chief people officer
In her new role, Ms LaVerne is leading group HR and together with her team, will ensure Xaar delivers on its ambition of becoming an ‘employer of choice’, a key part of the ‘People’ pillar within the group’s sustainability roadmap, as launched earlier this year.
She has extensive international, cross-sector HR experience, having worked for Marks and Spencer plc, E.On and Headlam Group, amongst others.
‘Xaar already has a strong set of values and great people who are clearly passionate about its products, and I’m delighted to be part of the team driving the People Strategy across the group,’ said Ms LaVerne. ‘We’ve already rolled out a number of exciting initiatives – such as our Early Careers Programme – as we invest in both our people and our community. By continuing to develop our People Strategy we will cement Xaar as being both a great place to work and one where everyone can build their career.’
Ms LaVerne is to report into Xaar CEO John Mills, who said, ‘[Sue and Karl] will ensure we have the best people, as well as a strong R&D focus, as we continue to drive the development of the next generation of inkjet printheads and deliver our vision of a world where you can print anything you can imagine.’
