James Cropper Appoints Paul Barber As Managing Director Of Paper & Packaging To Deliver Innovation, Growth And Leadership

Published:

17 Mar 2025

March 2025 - James Cropper, the global market leader in Paper & Packaging and Advanced Materials, has announced that Paul Barber has joined as Managing Director of Paper & Packaging.

Delivering Innovation, Growth And Leadership

Paul’s appointment comes in James Cropper’s 180^th year of operation and follows the unification of James Cropper Speciality Paper, Colourform, and Technical Fibre Products under one company name of James Cropper with the new brand essence – ‘Making a Material Difference’.

Having implemented a transformation programme including a streamlined portfolio and operational improvements, James Cropper has also made several strategic key hires with Paul Barber following the recent appointment of David Stirling as Chief Executive Officer.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the paper and packaging industry, Paul began his career as an Area Sales Manager for Sonoco. Roles at Weidenhammer Packaging Group, Smurfit Kappa, DS Smith and Corrboard followed, before Paul took the reins as Managing Director of the Coveris Group. Paul’s background includes skills in building customer partnerships and programmes of customer excellence, operational stabilisation and acceleration, investment planning, new product development, employee engagement strategies and manufacturing growth.

Paul Barber

Managing Director

David Stirling

Chief Executive Officer

“ During my tenure in the paper and packaging industry, I have long admired James Cropper for its history of quality manufacturing, innovation, navigating challenges and deep-rooted ESG values.

This role presents a unique opportunity to be part of a first-rate team. My focus will be on creating an environment where our employees can thrive and mobilising their knowledge and expertise to accelerate bespoke solutions for our customers. I’ll also be aligning our strong operational ability and introducing new systems and processes to support our customer base.
”

Paul Barber

Managing Director

“ With a background of spearheading transformation and increasing profitability, Paul is perfectly placed to steer our paper and packaging business through this next chapter.

As we mark 180 years of the James Cropper brand, Paul’s appointment forms part of our strategy for future growth, setting bold ambitions for our team and our customers. Paul will also play a key role in actioning our commitment to safeguarding a robust future for the industry, our community and the environment.
”

David Stirling

Chief Executive Officer