Alon Bar-Shany, the global face of HP Indigo and its long-time general manager, is leaving the company after a quarter of a century with the innovative print systems developer, the last 16 as its leader.
His departure comes as HP moves to restructure its business, which has grown exponentially since HP acquired it in 2001. He will be succeeded by Haim Levit, who has also been with the company for 25 years, latterly in North America.
Bar-Shany was well known on these shores, working with local supplier Currie Group, and a consistent presence at local trade shows and Dscoop events, speaking easily and eloquently on the printing industry, the wider business environment, and on HP Indigo.
With a background in chemistry, he joined Indigo in 1995 two years after it burst into the printing world. Over the next nine years he worked in various senior roles, before becoming GM in 2004, effectively the head of the company.
Over the past 16 years Bar-Shany has led HP Indigo to consistent growth to be one of the biggest developers in the print industry. Indeed, at the last drupa, and at the one just postponed, HP was the biggest exhibitor, taking the whole of Hall 17. Its proud claim was that all the kit on display – and there were multiple systems for multiple applications – was all available.
HP Indigo is now in its sixth generation of technology. Just last month it launched its new portfolio, which saw new technology for commercial printing – including a 6000sph B2 press – cartons, flexibles, and labels.
In recent years HP Indigo has achieved some mammoth sales to the likes of Vistaprint parent Cimpress, online giant Shutterfly, and this year's US$100m deal with start-up flexibles printer e-Pac. But the core HP business has remained with the small and medium sized privately-owned companies, to which Bar-Shany remained committed, clearly enjoying the friendship and feedback of their owners and managers.
In many ways the antithesis of the giant US corporation, Bar-Shany was in ultra-casual attire long before it was cool, played the guitar regularly – his last outing being Currie Group's 70th anniversary party – and was open and honest in a way not always seen from corporate executives.
Indigo was founded in 1977; its first press the e-Print 1000 was launched at UK trade show Ipex in 1993. HP took a US$100m stake in 2000, then bought the whole company a year later for an eye-watering US$629m, with another US$150m due if certain revenue targets were met.
