CHICAGO—Willow Printing Group's Jeff Ekstein, president and chief executive officer, has been tapped as the Printing Industries of America (PIA)'s new chairman of the board.

The appointment was made official on November 17, at the Printing Industries’ Fall Administrative Meetings in Chicago, Illinois.

Ekstein has served as an officer of the board and a member of its Executive Committee since 2011. Prior to that, he was chairman of the Education Committee (2009-2011), and currently serves as a judge for the PIA-produced Premier Print Awards.

In Canada, Ekstein served as co-chair of the Canadian Printing Industries Sector Council (CPISC), chair of the Ontario Printing and Imaging Association (OPIA)'s Government Affairs Committee, and long-time director of the Canadian Printing Industries Association (CPIA) as well as its past chair.

Other appointments named at the meeting were first vice chairman David Olberding, of Cincinnati-based Phototype; second vice chairman Bradley Thompson II, of Detroit's Inland Press; secretary to the board Curt Kreisler, from Gold Star Printers in Miami Beach; and treasurer Michael Wurst, of Henry Wurst Inc., Kansas City. Timothy Burton, of Burton & Mayer Inc. in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, is now immediate past chair.

Also joining the Board of Directors in 2014 are Chip Smith of Marshall and Bruce Company, Nashville, representing Printing Industry Association of the South; Chris Feryn of Portland's Premier Press, representing PPI Association; and David Radziej, Printing Industry Midwest, Roseville, MN, representing the affiliate managers.