Parkside expands board to support rapid growth

The board expansion has added close to 100 years of industry experience to the leadership of the business. It is underpinned by the continued growth across all business sectors, and its focus will be further to develop Parkside's global position in the industry. 

The host of new appointments includes Ian Groundwell, group operations director; Paul McKeown, divisional sales director for specialty; and Tim Hosking, group finance director and company secretary.  

‘Like much of the industry, we have faced many challenges during the pandemic, but through the hard work and commitment of our workforce and the loyalty of our customer base, we have found ourselves in a very strong position, seeing tremendous growth across all aspects of the business,’ commented Robert Adamson, managing director of Parkside. ‘As a result, we are placing significant investment in our people to support this growth and enable us to adapt efficiently to the new markets and geographies in which we now operate.’ 

Groundwell takes up his new role after many years of service to Parkside, initially joining the business as an apprentice flexographic printer in 1983 at the age of 16, which has provided him with a wealth of knowledge about the company, the industry, and the ever-evolving and changing demands on flexible packaging.  

McKeown spent 33 years working at Innovia Films as EMEA sales director before joining Parkside. He will use his vast experience to further boost sales development across the company's sustainable, flexible packaging ranges for the food, health, personal, and household care sectors. 

Heading up the finance division, Hosking joins with 26 years of experience, the last five years at board level. He will be responsible for the strategy of driving forward the finance and IT functions in the UK and Asia.  

Finally, along with the new board members, Parkside has chosen to add several new experienced employees in key strategic roles. These include but are not limited to ESG, marketing, technical, supply chain, quality, and operations. 

‘Our people are our greatest asset and, in my view, the core to our success, and it's important we invest in them to provide the necessary support to continue our exciting trajectory. We are always striving to be the employer of choice in the flexible packaging industry, and I believe these new additions to the business demonstrate this. Additionally, Parkside will continue its investment to provide our colleagues new or old with the ideal environment to flourish, which is paramount to our plans as we move forward,’ concluded Adamson.