Ceri Stirland takes over as publisher’s first female leader on 1 March
UK Greetings’ long-serving ceo James Conn has announced his plans to retire, with customer and channel director Ceri Stirland becoming the first woman to lead the company on 1 March.
The news of James’ decision was announced on Friday, 10 February, bringing an end to his near 39-year career at the West Yorkshire-based publisher, the past five as ceo of international, which includes UKG, Carlton Greetings, and John Sands.
UKG said: “Under James’ transformational leadership, UK Greetings has navigated numerous global challenges and successfully grown the business. UK Greetings would like to express its gratitude for James’ outstanding leadership.”
He began at the Dewsbury business in 1985, joining as a trainee sales executive for Andrew Valentine which was later absorbed into UKG. His talent for business and innate people skills were quickly spotted and promotions came thick and fast thereafter.
James became group sales director in 2010 and then took another step up in 2012 as sales and marketing director before taking over in 2018 when Gary Rowley retired as ceo after 44 years with the company.
Ceri joined UKG in 2008 as business unit director, having previously worked on the retail side with stores including Asda, then became director of marketing in 2012, and in 2018 was also made customer and channel director.
When her new role begins at the start of next month Ceri, who is also a former president of the GCA, will report directly to Joe Arcuri, ceo of parent company American Greetings, and she said: “I am absolutely delighted to be the first woman to be appointed as ceo of UKG International, and I look forward to working closely with the talented team at UKG and our customers.”
UKG added: “The first female ceo at UKG, a testament to the progress being made towards gender equality in the corporate world, Ceri brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served in senior leadership positions throughout her career.
“We are excited for the future under Ceri’s leadership and look forward to continued growth and thriving as a company – one thing remains unchanged, our commitment to delivering exceptional products and service to our customers and being a leader in our industry.”
Top: James Conn is handing over the UKG ceo post to Ceri Stirland
