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Cory Francer is an Analyst with NAPCO Research, where he leads the team’s coverage of the dynamic and growing packaging market. Cory also is the former editor-in-chief of Packaging Impressions and is still an active contributor to its print magazines, blogs, and events. With a decade of experience as a professional journalist and editor, Cory brings an eye for storytelling to his packaging research, providing compelling insight into the industry's most pressing business issues. He is an active participant in many of the industry's associations and has played an essential role in the development of the annual Digital Packaging Summit. Cory can be reached at cfrancer@napco.com

Brendan Menapace is the content director for Promo+Promo Marketing.

Thomas J. Williams is a partner in New Direction Partners (NDP), the leading provider of advisory services for printing and packaging firms seeking growth and opportunity through mergers and acquisitions. NDP assists its clients by giving them expert guidance and peace of mind at every stage of the process of buying or selling a printing or packaging company. Services include representing selling shareholders; acquisition searches; valuation; capital formation and financing; and strategic planning. NDP’s partners have participated in more than 300 mergers and acquisitions since 1979. Collectively they possess more than 200 years of industry experience with transactions in aggregate exceeding $2 billion. For information, email info@newdirectionpartners.com

Mark Michelson now serves as Editor Emeritus of Printing Impressions. Named Editor-in-Chief in 1985, he is an award-winning journalist and member of several industry honor societies. Reader feedback is always encouraged. Email mmichelson@napco.com

Patrick Henry is the director of Liberty or Death Communications. He is also a former Senior Editor at NAPCO Media and long time industry veteran.

Denise Gustavson is the Editorial Director for the Alliance Media Brands — which includes Printing Impressions, Packaging Impressions, In-plant Impressions, Wide-Format Impressions, Apparelist, NonProfitPRO, and the PRINTING United Journal — PRINTING United Alliance.

Toni McQuilken is the senior editor for the printing and packaging group.

As director of the On Demand Printing and Publishing Consulting Service Europe, Ralf Schlözer is responsible for all service related publications and research in Europe. He is responsible for market trend analysis and forecasting, event or client driven research projects and creating presentations, newsletters and analysis reports. Schlözer has over 20 years of experience in the graphic arts and graphic system manufacturing industries. Before joining InfoTrends, he spent five years in the Research and Development and Digital Printing Business groups of Manroland in product planning and system integration for direct imaging presses and xerographic OEM printing systems. Schlözer has extensive knowledge of traditional and direct imaging presses, as well as non-impact printing technologies. He is the author of several conference papers, trade press articles, and presentations. Schlözer graduated as Diplom Ingenieur in Printing Management and Technology in Berlin, and also holds an M.S. Degree in Graphic Arts Systems from the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.). Contact him at +49 30 4403 4883.

Karis Copp is a U.K.-based journalist and communications specialist. With a background as a writer and editor in the print industry, she writes about print and technology news and trends, reports on industry events, and works with businesses to help them tell their stories and connect with their customers. Follow her on Twitter @KarisCoppMedia.

Barbara Pellow is the owner and founder of Pellow and Partners. With her long history focusing on digital communications and print technology, she works with both print service providers and equipment and software manufacturers on the development of strategies to improve revenue and profitability and grow market share.

Mark Hahn is a managing director and founder of Graphic Arts Advisors, a boutique strategic financial advisory and consulting firm focused exclusively on the printing, packaging, mailing, marketing services, brand management, and related graphic communications industries. With more than 35 years of graphic communications experience in the areas of finance, operations, sales, M&A, and general management, Hahn has served as chief financial officer, chief operating officer and other senior positions with several commercial printing companies, as well as founding and eventually selling his own printing company.The firm assists company owners and management, as well as their lenders, investors and shareholders in the following areas: mergers and acquisitions, sale of business, strategic and financial advisory, capital structure and funding, financial analysis, interim and turnaround C-level management, business valuations and serving as consulting experts. Hahn is the author of The Target Report and is regularly published and quoted in printing industry trade and management journals. Mark Hahn can be reached at (973) 588-7399 or mark@graphicartsadvisors.com

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.

Andrew D. Paparozzi joined PRINTING United Alliance as Chief Economist in 2018. He analyzes and reports on economic, technological, social and demographic trends that will define the printing industry’s future. His most important responsibility, however, is being an observer of the industry by listening to the issues and concerns of company owners, executives and managers. Previously, he worked 31 years at the National Association for Printing Leadership. He has also taught mathematics, statistics and economics at various colleges. Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston College and a Master’s degree in economics — with concentrations in econometrics and public finance — from Columbia University.

Lisbeth Lyons is Vice President, Government & Political Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance, the largest, most comprehensive graphic arts trade association in the country. With more than 20 years of experience representing the voice of business on Capitol Hill, Lisbeth advocates for public policies that protect and advance the economic future of the printing and packaging industry. She oversees PRINTING United Alliance’s legislative, political, and grassroots advocacy initiatives, and has served in executive leadership of multiple successful advocacy campaigns, such as Coalition for Paper Options, Coalition for a 21^st Century Postal Service, and Stop Tariffs on Printers & Publishers Coalition.

Prior to representing PRINTING United Alliance, Lisbeth served in similar roles at Printing Industries of America, US Telecom, and the National Federation of Independent Business. She also spent three years as a K-12 teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system, where she was on the forefront of urban education reform in the mid-1990s.

Lisbeth is Midwestern born and bred, having grown up in the St. Louis metropolitan area and attended college at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, before starting her career in Washington, DC. She holds a B.A. in English/Sociology and a professional graduate certificate from The George Washington University School of Political Management. She lives in the historic Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC.

An avid leader and learner in professional development, Lisbeth was a founding member of the Government Relations Leadership Forum, and is an active participant in organizations such as Council of Manufacturing Associations, Women in Government Relations, and National Association of Business PACs, among others. Lisbeth is often a featured speaker at premier industry conferences; she has spoken to Boards of Directors, corporate executive management teams, and state and regional trade associations across the country from coast to coast.

Lauren Searson has been the Managing Editor for the SGIA Journal since November 2017 and has worked in publications for more than 10 years.

Dan Marx, Content Director for Wide-Format Impressions, holds extensive knowledge of the graphic communications industry, resulting from his more than three decades working closely with business owners, equipment and materials developers, and thought leaders.

Gary A. Jones is the director of environmental, health and safety (EHS) affairs at PRINTING United Alliance in Fairfax, VA. His primary responsibility is to monitor and analyze EHS regulatory activities at all domestic and some international government levels. He provides representation on behalf of the printing and specialty graphic imaging industry.  In doing so, Mr. Jones works closely with the federal and state-level Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and other agencies.  He also provides membership assistance on EHS compliance and sustainability programs through a variety of approaches including responding to inquiries, presentations, writing, and consulting services.

Mr. Jones is also supporting PRINTING United Alliance’s efforts for the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP). SGP is dedicated to assisting printing operations respond to the customer demand for sustainable printing.

He holds a BS in biology from LaRoche College and an MS in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.

Tom has 25+ years of experience in CPG branding and package design. From 1998 to 2016 he was a principal and co-owner of WFM. During that time, he led creative and won awards for The Hershey Company, Pfizer, Stoner Car Care and Zippo. He has launched new products for Fresh Solutions Network, Koch’s Turkey, Klamath Basin Fresh Organics and Wolfgang Candy to name a few. As the founder of FORCEpkg, he has become a leading voice in the packaging industry and has written for publications such as BXP, Flexo Magazine, International Package Design, FoodDIVE and others.

Adriane Harrison is Vice President, Human Relations Consulting at PRINTING United Alliance. Adriane assists members with a wide variety of HR matters involving statutes, regulations, policies, procedures, culture, and staffing, as well as the gamut of day-to-day HR issues.  In addition, she supports professional development by conducting webinars, participating in panel discussions, and speaking at industry events on human resources issues. Currently, Adriane is the Chairperson of the Graphic Communications Workforce Coalition, a member of the Women in Print Alliance, and a founder of the Women’s Print Mentoring Network.

Adriane received a journalism degree from the University of Illinois and a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago. As an attorney, Adriane practiced in both the public and private sectors. Her work was in the areas of Constitutional, commercial, securities, and criminal law. Adriane and her family live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Ford Bowers is the CEO of PRINTING United Alliance.

As editor-in-chief of Packaging Impressions — the leading publication and online content provider for the printed packaging markets — Linda Casey leverages her experience in the packaging, branding, marketing, and printing industries to deliver content that label and package printers can use to improve their businesses and operations.

Prior to her role at Packaging Impressions, Casey was editor-in-chief of BXP: Brand Experience magazine, which celebrated brand design as a strategic business competence. Her body of work includes deep explorations into a range of branding, business, packaging, and printing topics.

Casey’s other passion, communications, has landed her on the staffs of a multitude of print publications, including Package Design, Converting, Packaging Digest, Instant & Small Commercial Printer, High Volume Printing, BXP: Brand Experience magazine, and more. Casey started her career more than three decades ago as news director for WJAM, a youth-oriented music-and-news counterpart to WGCI and part of the Chicago-based station’s AM band presence.

Nathan Safran is Vice President, Research for NAPCO Media. Nathan is a former Forrester Research Analyst with deep experience designing custom research solutions that solve client business problems. Nathan works with the subject matter experts across NAPCO’s brands to design research solutions that leverage NAPCO’s engage audiences and provides deep insight. Nathan is a frequent speaker at industry events and his research has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Fortune Magazine.

David Wilaj reports on economic and industry trends which aim to help printers navigate an ever-changing business environment

He joins the Printing United Alliance research team after beginning his career at Printing Industries of America where he analyzed, reported and spoke on key trends in commercial print and aided in the revitalization of the historic Performance Ratios program.

Peter Schaefer, partner at New Direction Partners, is an experienced dealmaker with more than 25 years of investment banking and valuation experience, 20 of which has been focused exclusively on the printing and packaging industries. He has closed more than one hundred transactions in virtually every segment of the printing and packaging industries. In addition, he has performed hundreds of valuations for ESOPs, estate and gift tax planning and strategic planning purposes. Contact him at (610) 230-0635, ext. 701.

A graduate of the University of Miami, Keith Loria is a D.C.-based award-winning journalist who has been writing for major publications for close to 20 years on topics as diverse as healthcare, travel, and tech. He started his career with the Associated Press and has held high editorial positions at publications aimed at entertainment, sports, and technology.

Karen Maher works for UnifiedAR, a provider of white label WebAR solutions specific to the print and direct mail industry. She has been involved in the print and graphics art industry for more than forty years, and represents UnifiedAR as a Partner Channel Success Manager for North America.

Sabine Lenz is the founder of PaperSpecs.com, the first online paper database and community specifically designed for paper specifiers.

Growing up in Germany, Sabine started her design career in Frankfurt, before moving to Australia and then the United States. She has worked on design projects ranging from corporate identities to major road shows and product launches. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, her list of clients included Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Deutsche Bank, IBM and KPMG.

Seeing designers struggle worldwide to stay current with new papers and paper trends inspired Sabine to create PaperSpecs, an independent and comprehensive Web-based paper database and weekly e-newsletter. She is also a speaker on paper issues and the paper industry. Some refer to her lovingly as the "paper queen" who combines her passion for this wonderful substrate called paper with a hands-on approach to sharing her knowledge. 

Tory Walker is a Loftware Global Artwork & Packaging Solutions Executive.

Bill Pope is the Vice President, Technical Services, at PRINTING United Alliance.

Doris Bünnagel has been working for German packaging media for over 20 years after studying natural sciences at the University of Cologne and training as a journalist at the Institute of German Business. Since the end of 2019, she has been working as a freelance editor at packaging journal (ella Verlag & Medien). Her favorite topics: environmentally friendly packaging materials, exciting automation solutions and the ideas of young packaging developers.

Freelance writer and editor offering a wide range of public relations services and content marketing, including blog posts, press releases, social media posts, newsletters, trade magazine articles and case studies. More than 15 years of experience working with companies in the technology, retail, construction and consumer products industries.

Dr. Dieter Niederstadt is the technical marketing manager for Asahi Photoproducts.

Joe Marin is the Senior VP, Education and Training at PRINTING United Alliance.

Kalie VanDewater is associate content and online editor at NAPCO Media.

David Zwang specializes in production optimization, strategic business planning, market analysis, and related services to companies in the vertical media communications market. He can be reached at david@zwang.com.

Jessie Farrigan is the production editor for the Printing & Packaging Group at NAPCO Media.

Lisa Cross is the principal analyst of NAPCO Research (a unit of NAPCO Media) where she conducts market research and analysis on emerging trends and changing dynamics in the commercial, in-plant and packaging industries, and the market forces that are driving those changes. With decades of experience covering the graphic arts and marketing industries, Cross has authored thousands of articles on a variety of topics, including technology trends,  business strategy, sales, marketing and legislation.

Osorio is Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs Coordinator at PRINTING United Alliance.

Ray assists association members with information on digital printing as well as digital equipment, materials, and vendor referrals. He oversees training and certification workshops at PRINTING United Alliance. Ray is project manager for both the PDAA Certification program and the PRINTING United Alliance Digital Color Professional Certification program and is an instructor for the Color Management Boot Camps as well as a G7 expert. Ray regularly contributes to the Association's Journal and won the 2016 Swormstedt Award for Best in Class writing in the Digital Printing category. Ray was inducted into the Academy of Screen and Digital Printing Technologies (ASDPT) in 2020. He also works with SkillsUSA to conduct the National Competition for Graphics Imaging Sublimation. Outside of work, Ray enjoys biking, international cuisine and spending time with his three fantastic grandkids.

Melissa Campanelli is Editor-in-Chief of Total Retail. She is an industry veteran, having covered all aspects of retail, tech, digital, e-commerce, and marketing over the past 20 years. Melissa is also the co-founder of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle.