Wim Maes to Leave Xeikon, Flint Group Appoints New Digital Solutions CEO

Xeikon, a division of Flint Group, and market leader in digital color printing technology, has announced that Benoit Chatelard will assume the role of president and CEO of Flint Group’s Digital Solutions effective May 8. In his mandate to further develop Flint Group Digital Solutions' portfolio and customer reach in that arena, for which Xeikon is a strategic element, he will be proposed as CEO of Xeikon (to be confirmed by the Xeikon shareholders meeting).

From left, Wim Maes, Flint Group CEO Antoine Fady, and Benoit Chatelard shake hands. Chatelard will succeed Maes as president and CEO of Flint Group Digital Solutions.

Chatelard has a rich history in the digital production printing market. Most recently, he was vice president, production printing business group for Ricoh Europe. His digital production printing career began in 2002, when he led the IBM Printing Systems Division for France, Belgium and Luxembourg. With the creation of the InfoPrint Solutions Company Joint Venture between Ricoh and IBM in 2007, Chatelard was appointed vice president and general manager for the joint venture in Asia Pacific based in Singapore, and continued to take on increased leadership responsibilities within Ricoh Europe over the ensuing years.

"First, I want to thank Wim Maes for his years of service to Xeikon, and for the great work he did in getting the Flint Group Digital Printing Solutions division off the ground following our acquisition of Xeikon," Antoine Fady, CEO of Flint Group, said. "His contributions have been invaluable in our ability to continue growth at Xeikon, better integrate sales efforts among our divisions, implement proper market segmentation, develop and implement investment strategies, and build a product roadmap for the Digital Printing Solutions division. Under his leadership, Xeikon fully developed its labels and packaging domain, expanded market coverage, and thanks to customer-driven innovation, leaves the company in a strong position with a robust product portfolio. As Wim leaves our organization, we are thrilled to have an executive of the quality and with the experience of Benoit to carry the business forward. His mission is to continue executing the plan and further grow the division. Flint Group's mission is to be a global provider of digital printing equipment and overall printing supplies, and his knowledge and expertise will be important as we continue to move that mission forward."

Benoit Chatelard

Maes said, "I am leaving Xeikon and Flint Group with mixed feelings. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the company and feel good about the progress we made. I especially want to thank our wonderful Xeikon customers, partners and employees for eight very interesting and rewarding years. I feel proud to have been able to contribute to the Xeikon story, and I have full confidence Benoit will continue this great story with even more achievements in the future."

Chatelard said, "I am looking forward to taking on this new role. It is an exciting time in the industry, both for Xeikon and its customers. Under Wim’s leadership, the company was set on a solid path to the future, and I will be taking up the reins to continue his work, building even greater levels of customer intimacy, working to understand and address emerging customer needs in an ever-changing marketplace.”

Source: Xeikon.