After 44 years of working with the company, Gary Rowley, ceo of UK Greetings has announced he is to retire on 1 March 2018. He hands the baton to his long time colleague, James Conn who takes over as head honcho of the UK publisher on the same day.
Gary has not only given his life and soul to the UK greeting card industry, but he has also played an important role in shaping it.
Gary joined the fore-runner of UKG straight from school in 1973, starting out as a humble trainee cost accountant, but rose through the ranks, amassing knowledge, gaining respect and never losing the passion for this business.
Having been appointed into various top sales positions, Gary became ceo of the company in 2010.
Gary has always recognised the importance of building a strong team around him, yet was never far away from sharing sage advice.
As he told PG Buzz: “I work with a talented bunch of individuals, but as I tell them, we need to be careful that we don’t get carried away. The success of the business stands and falls by its product and its service.”
Gary is a ‘one company man’, having spent his entire career with UKG (or its former incarnations). He has no regrets about having shown this steadfast loyalty. As he told PG once: “I thank my lucky stars every day that I joined this card company rather than go to work in that bank our parents wanted me to join all those years ago!”
Gary, who received the Henries Honorary Achievement Award in 2016, hands the ceo baton to James Conn, who is also a UKG stalwart, having been with the company since 1985, joining as a trainee sales executive for Andrew Valentine (which was later absorbed into UKG). His talent for business and innate people skills were quickly spotted and promotions came thick and fast thereafter. He became group sales director in 2010 and then took another step up in 2012 when he became sales and marketing director.
The close working relationship between Gary and James forged over the many years they have worked alongside will ensure that there will be a seamless handover.
