Chicago - Dscoop (Digital Solutions Cooperative) announces new leadership for its 2015 fiscal year beginning Nov. 1: John Rogers as the new Global Executive Director, and Gary Peeling as the new Global Chairman.

Rogers, Dscoop’s new Global Executive Director, is a print veteran with 30+ years of experience in the industry. He started his career at Moore Business Forms, where he rose to senior ranks in sales, marketing and e-commerce. After leaving Moore, he started Canada’s first digital color printing company Dots & Pixels Inc. in 1994. His company was an early adopter of variable data printing and web-to-print solutions. Through his experience in the industry, Rogers has strong relationships with HP and other Dscoop partners and members. He was also one of the founders of Dscoop, and his passion and enthusiasm for the organization is as strong today as it was then. Knowing Dscoop’s history and core values will be a critical component in helping to shape the future of the organization. His experience as an owner of a graphic arts business similar to those of other Dscoop members, and his experience managing within a larger organization provide significant perspective as Dscoop continues to build on its worldwide successes.

Rogers will provide strategic leadership to the Dscoop boards of directors and management teams in North America, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific and Japan. His responsibilities will include oversight of the organization’s strategy, financials, operations and marketing around the globe.

“I am so excited to be working with an organization I love at a time when it is celebrating its tenth anniversary,” said Rogers. “There is nothing I would rather be doing at this point in my career than working with the visionary individuals and companies involved in Dscoop who are together shaping the future of the industry. We have a great future together, and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”

Gary Peeling, Dscoop’s new Global Chairman, is Managing Director at Precision Printing Company Ltd. in the UK. Over the past 25 years, he has worked to build and develop Precision Printing, supporting leading consumer brands in the photo, greeting card and self-publishing space. Peeling has been focused on delivering the results that printing as physical media can uniquely bring. His work at Precision has enabled him to indulge his passion for solution-building as the company has delivered successful print management systems across multiple sectors to corporate clients such as American Express and Sony. Peeling is passionate about developing print media and his business, working and innovating to ensure the future of both by pioneering new techniques in digital print production, seamless print integration, automated workflow solutions, photo product production, litho, and digital print hubs and web-to-print. He continues to push the envelope in print technologies, and we expect him to bring this visionary perspective to his work with Dscoop’s global and regional boards.

“I am pleased to take on this new role in collaboration with John. John is a well-qualified leader who will help us shape the future of our cooperative. He has a unique set of experiences that make him the perfect person for the role of Global Executive Director at this point in time,” said Gary Peeling, Dscoop 2015 Global Chairman.

Commentary by Cary Sherburne

Today’s announcement marks a new phase for Dscoop, arguably the most successful user group in the history of our industry with more than 8,000 members worldwide. 2015 marks a decade since Dscoop was formed. It’s kind of ironic that John Rogers, who was involved in its formation as the owner of Toronto’s Dots & Pixels, is now the Global Executive Director of the organization.  John retired in 2011, but continued to serve on Dscoop’s marketing committee and in 2013, took on a new role to head up its partner development program. He indicates he is busier than ever before and loving it.

John’s history in the industry begins with more than two decades at Moore Business Forms.  He left Moore to start up Canada’s first digital color printing company (Dots & Pixels) and was an early Indigo user in that business.  He has a background in both commercial print and packaging, which will be of great value to the organization with the increased emphasis HP is putting on the labels and packaging market.

In talking to John, I heard an energy, knowledge and enthusiasm that will help keep Dscoop on its successful growth path.  One significant change is that John will be reporting to the Dscoop board.  Previous executive directors have been employees of SmithBucklin, the organization that manages the group.

A key growth initiative is the addition to its conference, DscoopX, of a specialized track for labels and packaging.  This will not only be beneficial to the members since packaging is clearly a growth segment, but will allow the organization to seek an entirely new portfolio of partners.  I addition, it is my understanding that in his new role as HP’s VP/GM for the Americas, Yishai Amir is placing an increased emphasis on the Dscoop value proposition to encourage both new and existing customers to take advantage of Dscoop membership—across all of the product categories. This, together with Dscoop’s own membership efforts, positions Dscoop to grow even larger.

In other organizational changes at Dscoop, Gary Peeling, Managing Director at Precision Printing Company Ltd. in the UK, takes over from Chris Petro as Global Chair, and a new role of Chief of Staff will be filled by Julie Wichlin. Wichlin is a SmithBucklin employee with 22 years of experience in leadership positions, overseeing operations, sales and service at a variety of high tech organizations. Most recently, she served as executive director of the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG), managing all aspects of the organization’s strategy and operations.

It is not unusual for the needs of an organization to change over a decade, and most organizations such as this experience growing pains of one type or another. Some organizations falter at these crossroads, but it appears, at least from the outside, that Dscoop won’t be one of those.

WhatTheyThink is looking forward to being at DscoopX in Washington D.C. in March 2015, where we can report on the outcome of the work John and his team, including all of the busy executives who volunteer significant time and resources, have going on between now and then.  We also plan to catch up with John in January 2015 to get an interim update.  Stay tuned!