Head of Marketing, Paper & Packaging

Stefan Pryor

Joined

Mar 2008

Stefan joined James Cropper as an apprentice in 2008 studying for a Business Management degree early on in his career with the company, and more recently a Professional Diploma in Marketing through the Chartered Institute of Marketing. This educational and practical application during his career at the company has been invaluable.

With over 15 years’ experience in manufacturing and the paper industry Stefan has work in a variety of commercial roles including customer service, projects, product management and more latterly as Head of Marketing for James Cropper Paper & Packaging.

He has overseen the delivery of many key strategic projects for the business including the acquisition of the Vanguard brand, major customer project wins with world-leading luxury brands and represented the company all over the world.

Tell us about a typical day in your role at James Cropper.

I wonder how many people have said no two days are the same? I'm not going to say that but what I do enjoy about my role, and previous roles I have held in the company, is that the days can be so varied so it keeps me on my toes.

I always start my day with a morning coffee. My office is next door to Café 1845, our on-site canteen, which is certainly a perk of the job when it comes to break time. I like to blitz through my smaller tasks and unread emails to get them out of the way early on.

More broadly though, I lead and work with an excellent team who have a variety of skills and experience across the marketing profession. This enables me to support and work with them on the development of new product strategies, customer interactions, communications and events.

Recently we embarked on a rebrand project across the group that included a new website, investment in a new CRM system, and we are laying the foundations for an exciting future for the company with lots of new products and campaigns to get involved in, and new markets to explore.

During your career at James Cropper, what has been your most memorable highlight?

It would have to be pitching centred around our CupCycling™ innovation. I presented to a panel of industry experts at Luxepack New York in 2018 for the ‘In Green Sustainability Award’ and we won. It was a great personal experience accepting the award on-stage and on behalf of everyone at James Cropper.

Much closer to home in Carlisle, I presented the marketing plan behind CupCycling™ to the judging panel at the InCumbria Awards, which went on to win ‘Best Marketing Strategy' in 2019.

What work are you particularly proud of at James Cropper?

I have two...

1. Graduating with my Business and Management Degree in 2014 and Professional Diploma in Marketing in 2021, all whilst continue to work full-time for the company. I am proud of this achievement and cannot thank the company enough for giving me this opportunity.

2. I’m proud that I can walk into any retail or duty-free store around the world and always find a product that has been made using James Cropper’s paper and packaging. I never get tired of letting people know about how often they experience a James Cropper product!

Who do you most admire in the industry?

Not a person necessarily, but what I admire about the James Cropper business is that, despite advances in technology and new innovations that have emerged during our 179-year history, the beautiful papers we make are still equally as reliant on the skills and craft of our people.