New Managing Director appointed at Challenge Packaging

A new Managing Director has been appointed at Challenge Packaging succeeding Martin Coppard who will retire officially at the end of the year.

Mark McCleery began his career with Mondi Packaging in South Africa before transferring to the UK with Mondi, initially as UK Innovation Manager before becoming Sales Director for the Mold operation.

From there, he joined Saica as UK Commercial Director and then undertook operational leadership roles at the Winsford and Wigan integrated plants. A further move took him to the St Ives Group to head up Group Operations for SP Group, before becoming Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of the division.

After 18 years in the corrugated sector, Mark moved into other senior roles in the wider print and packaging sector before the role at Challenge Packaging became available.

Mark commented; “I have spent the majority of my career in the corrugated packaging industry, so I welcomed the opportunity to return to a sector that I know and enjoy.

“Challenge Packaging is a unique business, offering an extensive range of products and services backed by an excellent reputation for customer service and reliability. The opportunity to be part of that was very appealing

“Challenge Packaging is a well-run business with a fantastic team of dedicated colleagues. It has a strong heritage in the South east, and our facilities give us a unique proposition that allows us to support customers in a variety of ways. I have been particularly impressed by the professionalism, commitment and customer focus of the team.

My aim is to build on the heritage and strengths of the business, delivering sustainable, profitable growth through exceptional customer service, reliability and continuous improvement.”

The strategic element of Mark’s role is to provide a clear vision for the business, built around the principles of the business, while creating an environment in which Challenge colleagues can do their best work, ensuring the business has the resources, support and investment needed to achieve its goals. Tactically, Mark will ensure the business consistently delivers against its key performance indicators and meets the expectations of its customers, colleagues and stakeholders.

David Richardson, CEO, Logson Group added; “It’s a very warm welcome to Mark and his experience in the industry is already proving to be valuable to the team at Challenge Packaging. He is the ideal successor to Martin, who remains with the Logson Group during the ongoing transition period.”

When Mark is away from the busy corrugated packaging world, he likes to spend
time with family and friends, making the most of opportunities to relax and recharge.