The global Print and Packaging sector is entering a major leadership transition period.
Across the UK, Europe, and the United States, many businesses continue to rely heavily on experienced operational, technical, and commercial leaders who hold decades of sector expertise, customer relationships, and manufacturing knowledge.
At the same time, the industry is evolving rapidly through:
- Automation and smart manufacturing.
- Sustainability and ESG pressures.
- Supply chain restructuring.
- Margin compression.
- Increasing operational complexity.
According to BPIF industry reporting, the UK print industry alone employs approximately 91,000 people across more than 6,700 companies, while the global packaging market is forecast to exceed $1.2 trillion by 2028. (bpif.org.uk, smithers.com)
However, the sector also faces a significant demographic challenge.
Manufacturing research from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute suggests:
- More than 20% of the manufacturing workforce in developed markets is approaching retirement age.
- Up to 2.1 million manufacturing roles in the US could remain unfilled by 2030 due to skills shortages and retirements.
- Leadership succession and technical capability are now among the biggest strategic concerns across industrial manufacturing sectors globally. (deloitte.com, themanufacturinginstitute.org)
For Print and Packaging businesses, the challenge is no longer simply replacing individuals. It is ensuring the next generation of leadership can operate effectively in a more technologically advanced, commercially pressured, and globally competitive industry.
What Industry Leaders Are Prioritising
1. Succession Planning for Critical Leadership Roles
Many organisations remain heavily dependent on a relatively small number of highly experienced individuals.
- Long-serving operational and commercial leaders nearing retirement.
- Limited internal succession pipelines.
- Concentration of customer and technical knowledge within key personnel.
What this means:
Succession planning is becoming a strategic priority as businesses look to reduce leadership risk and operational dependency.
2. Protecting Industry Knowledge and Expertise
The industry continues to rely heavily on experience-led operational decision-making.
- Deep technical understanding of substrates, machinery, converting, and production environments.
- Long-standing customer and supplier relationships.
- Practical manufacturing expertise built over decades.
What this means:
Businesses are increasingly focused on knowledge transfer and leadership continuity before experienced leaders exit the workforce.
3. Developing Future-Ready Leaders
Leadership capability requirements are evolving rapidly.
- Greater need for commercial agility and strategic thinking.
- Increased focus on automation, sustainability, and operational efficiency.
- Stronger expectation around communication, workforce engagement, and change management.
What this means:
Tomorrow’s manufacturing leaders will require broader and more adaptable skillsets than previous generations.
4. Balancing Technical Credibility with Leadership Capability
Technical expertise alone is no longer enough.
- High-performing technical specialists increasingly moving into leadership positions.
- Greater pressure on leaders to manage operational transformation and workforce change.
- Increased collaboration required across operations, supply chain, commercial, and sustainability functions.
What this means:
Leadership capability is becoming just as important as technical and operational experience.
5. Competing for International Leadership Talent
Competition for experienced leadership talent continues to intensify globally.
- Increased crossover hiring between packaging, FMCG, industrial manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing sectors.
- International businesses competing for the same talent pools.
- Greater mobility of senior operational and commercial leaders across regions.
What this means:
Businesses are increasingly having to position opportunities strategically to attract and retain leadership talent.
What We’re Seeing in the Market
- Increased global demand for:
- Operations Directors.
- Plant Managers.
- Commercial leaders with manufacturing expertise.
- Multi-site operational leadership capability.
- Leadership hiring processes becoming more structured and assessment-led.
- More businesses externally hiring due to limited internal succession pipelines.
- Increased movement of senior talent across:
- Flexible packaging.
- Labels.
- Corrugated manufacturing.
- Industrial packaging.
- Advanced manufacturing sectors.
- Greater emphasis being placed on:
- Change management capability.
- Workforce engagement.
- Commercial understanding.
- Leadership adaptability.
Practical Takeaways for Hiring Managers
- Identify leadership succession risks before they become operational issues.
- Assess where critical customer and operational knowledge currently sits within the business.
- Build structured development pathways for emerging leaders.
- Evaluate leadership capability alongside technical and operational expertise during hiring processes.
- Ensure leadership hiring strategies reflect long-term business direction, not simply immediate operational need.
CHI Insight
The biggest leadership challenge facing Print and Packaging is no longer simply replacing experience. It is developing leaders capable of combining operational credibility, commercial thinking, workforce leadership, and transformation capability within an increasingly complex global manufacturing environment.
How This Applies to Your Team
If your business is reviewing leadership capability or succession planning, it may be worth considering:
- Which operational or commercial leaders would be hardest to replace today.
- Where future leadership capability gaps are likely to emerge.
- Whether your succession pipeline reflects the future direction of the business and wider industry.
If useful, CHI can provide:
- Global leadership market mapping across specialist Print and Packaging sectors.
- Succession planning insight and competitor benchmarking.
- International hiring and leadership movement trends.
- Guidance on attracting and retaining operational and commercial leadership talent globally.
Want to know more? Get in touch