29 April / May 2023 - Issue 246 email: news@signlink.co.uk I’ve been at Grapefruit for 15 years now and my proudest career moment is probably accepting the Graphic Roll Out Award at the UKGA last year for our work at Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The way Grapefruit as a company recovered from lockdowns and events closing due to Covid-19 is a real testament of hard work, loyalty, and professionalism shown by the whole team. This project was started in uncertain times so remaining positive and determined all of the time had its difficulties. It was a tough couple of years, but I believe Grapefruit is stronger for it and I look forward to what the next couple of years has to offer. There are some exciting projects on the horizon. How did you come to be involved with the sign industry, and what has your career looked like to date? Never in my life would I think that I would be working in such an exciting industry! Two years ago I found a job at Vism online and joined as an Executive Assistant. Back then I had a pile of volunteering experiences and was a fresh university master, so joining a UK startup remotely from Ukraine sounded to me like a one-off opportunity. I got involved in talking with users and partners pretty quickly, so my role naturally evolved into a Customer Success role, then a Business Development Manager role and now I’m in charge of all the development processes and the Vism software itself. Do you feel there are enough women in the sign industry, and if not, how can we tackle this? I would say that I see a difference even over the last two years. When I joined it was mostly middle-aged men with me on the calls and I haven’t felt that I match the industry. And now I’m doing demos for women as new managers, so it slowly changes! Our team also organises events for the UK print and signage industry, and this year’s UK Graphic Awards room was more than 1/3 full of women, which is a huge difference even with UKGA 2021. I would also note the fact that most of these are the younger generation, so this is a positive tendency for the market. It inspires me to see young women as passionate about the topic as I am. What’s your proudest career moment to date? Honestly, I’m proud of myself each day! My work involves risk management, creativity, curiosity, and communication skills, and constant learning of technical skills. I’m extremely proud to see how Vism software has changed over the past year. We launched features for campaign management, two integrations, redesigned the whole product, and just released a fresh mobile app for project managers. Realising this is the result of my team’s work is priceless. My personal achievement is building signageandprint.com, which is a network of freelance and subcontract installers for printed graphics and signage. I was involved in the ideation process, first trial product and then building the proper product from scratch. It now feels like a baby to me. How did you come to be involved with the sign industry, and what has your career looked like to date? After leaving school I decided I did not want to go into further education, so joined a youth training scheme. This involved a day release to college and four days on-site with field practical experience. This took me to a printing company, Primary Print in Blackpool that had a vinyl cutter as well as other small-format printing equipment. I was always interested in sales and after 18 months I was offered a job at Granthams in Preston that gave me the opportunity to move into a new role. I was initially brought on board to handle showroom sales for Apple computers, but after two years moved to the signage department, which involved selling vinyl cutters, printers, flatbed solutions, etc. I loved the constant evolution of equipment and worked with some great customers. After 23 years, I was approached by CMYUK and joined in February 2017 as a Senior Digital Sales Consultant. This offered me a greater range of equipment to sell including large-format cutting tables, EFI VUTEk printers and sublimation solutions. After three years, I was promoted to Sales Director. Do you feel there are enough women in the sign industry, and if not, how can we tackle this? I know many women working in leading roles in the sign industry. I don’t think recruitment is a gender issue but more of a misconception of what printing actually is. I don’t think people are fully aware of the significant reach that print has in everyday life. The evolution of digital print production equipment, inks, and materials have placed design and creativity right at the heart of print. It’s an incredibly exciting and dynamic industry in which to be involved. What’s your proudest career moment to date? Being promoted to Sales Director at CMYUK. It’s a fantastic place to work at the forefront of innovation and a real champion for the customers we serve. How did you come to be involved with the sign industry, and what has your career looked like to date? I have been involved in print my entire career in some manner or another. Wide- format printing is and has been a constant growth within the printing industry. Drytac’s adhesive science is most important and most likely to change the wide-format Roksoliana Sydorska, product manager at Vism FOCUS ON / WOMEN IN SIGN Sue Hayward, sales director of CMYUK – Equipment The theme of International Women’s Day 2023 is ‘Embrace Equity’ meaning ‘creating an inclusive world’ Factoid Cathy Radoncic, territory sales manager, Northeast at Drytac
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==