Gent (Belgium), February 2007 - Esko, the world leader in packaging pre-production solutions, announced it has appointed Guy Van Puyvelde as Senior Vice-President Sales and Marketing, reporting to Carsten Knudsen, CEO, effective January 1, 2007. In this newly established position, Guy will lead Esko's four regional sales and service divisions (Europe/Middle East/Africa/Latin America, North America, Asia/Pacific and Japan). He will also have operational responsibility for Esko's Global Sales and Corporate Marketing departments. Guy brings to Esko 20 years of international experience in sales, marketing and general business management. Prior to his appointment at Esko, Guy served for two years as the CEO and Managing Director of GPG, a Belgian distributor of paper and supplies to the printing and sign-making industry, and a subsidiary of an international group active in 22 European countries. Guy started his career with Agfa-Gevaert in 1986. He moved to the United States in 1998 to be Product Coordinator and later Senior Marketing Manager for Agfa's Graphic Systems division. Guy then served as President and CEO of Agfa Mexico (1995-1999) and Agfa Canada (1999-2001), before returning as General Manager Agfa Graphic Systems Europe. Guy is 45 years old and holds a Master's degree in electronic engineering from the University of Brussels and an MBA from the University of Leuven. Carsten Knudsen, CEO Esko, stated: "Esko is firmly set to continue its strong business growth in packaging, in all regions worldwide and in all of our product and service activities. Guy strengthens our management team by his extensive leadership experience in a global marketplace, and will be a key driver in implementing our sales growth and overall business objectives."