MANAGEMENT ─ Exit Interviews
NEW YEAR, NEW
ADVENTURES
Marc Olin, Ken Garner and Michael Makin make their exits - for now.
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s a year wraps up and a new one begins, many people choose to make a new beginning. We spoke with three printing industry veterans who have done just that. While the three individuals we are recognizing here – Marc Olin, formerly COO at EFI; Michael Makin, former CEO of PIA and EVP at PRINTING United Alliance; and Ken Garner, formerly SVP for Content Creation at the Association for Print Technologies – are not the only printing professionals who are starting the new year with a new adventure, we wanted to give them special recognition for all of their contributions and years of service.
Michael Makin I’m pretty sure all of our readers know or have interacted with Michael Makin over the years. Back in 1995, he was President of the Canadian Printing Association, and then joined PIA in 2001 as COO, ultimately becoming CEO, a role he held Michael Makin for almost two decades. In May of 2020, he became Executive Vice President at PRINTING United Alliance, when PIA and PRINTING United Alliance completed their much expected merger. As we move into 2021, Makin takes a look back and a look ahead. Over the years, there have been several attempts at mergers of printing industry associations that have not made it over the finish line. Makin notes that
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this one made the most sense, and the board agreed with him. Getting the merger done was not easy, but they persevered and made it happen. For the PIA Affiliates, Makin believes that the PRINTING United Alliance has many resources that will be made available to them beyond what PIA alone could do. “One of the greatest things we did, both before and after the merger,” Makin said, “was providing information to members about how to navigate the pandemic from an HR perspective, how to make their plants safer, and also great advice on how to access and use Federal government resources such as PPP. Thousands of printing companies came to rely on that information, particularly when it came to PPP and HR. It is in times of crisis like this that an association is most valuable.” As for Makin’s future plans, he’ll take some welldeserved time off to consider his options. He notes that he’s been working since he was 15 years old, so it’s time to smell the roses. “I’m happy to report that I am going to take time to take it easy, enjoy time with family and see what my future holds,” Makin said. “I think the organization [PRINTING United Alliance] is in phenomenal hands with Ford [Bowers]. He’s one of the brightest people I have ever had the privilege of working with, spot on vision about where they industry needs to go and has brought together a powerhouse team to deliver it.” Looking ahead for the industry, Makin agrees with Joel Quadracci’s assessment that this is the golden age of print – he referred to it as a renaissance of print – and pointed out that the fact that the associations were able to get print established as an essential business during the pandemic really
WhatTheyThink - Printing News | January/February 2021
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