Nov. 20, 2006—The winner of Printing News' third annual Florence Joachim Woman Executive of the Year Award is a woman who exhibits leadership qualities, has a strong sense of ingenuity and excitement about graphic arts, and who has exerted a positive influence on the industry and the people around her?Cheryl Kahanec, vice president of technology and marketing, Tanaseybert, New York City.

Ms. Kahanec began her career in graphic arts 28 years ago by accident. She was planning to be an accountant, but the firm she was working for asked her to learn typesetting, which at the time fell under the jurisdiction of the financial department. She has never looked back.

"I'm just very, extremely honored. This is overwhelming," Ms. Kahanec said when she received the award last week.

Changing Times
It is not too hard to stay excited about print, Ms. Kahanec said, because this is an industry constantly changing and evolving. The job she started out in?typesetting?has all but disappeared, while technologies no one could even dream of a few years ago have taken center stage.

Ms. Kahanec has been at the forefront of this change. She has become an evangelist for digital print and variable data, embracing it and teaching others how to do the same. When a manufacturer called and asked her to test a new printer 13 years ago, she became the first digital printer. The machine had a Fuji Japan engine and a Scitex front end, and she used it to produce what Rochester Institute of Technology Professor Emertis Frank Romano has called the first variable-data color job. It was a 10,000-piece invitation for a Women in Direct Marketing event. It had quite a few variable fields, at a time when there was no software or easy way to populate them. That job took two months to produce and gave the manufacturer good feedback on what they needed to tweak and add before the commercial release.

"It's a wonderful industry. It continues to change, and I think we're very concerned because our industry has gone through some very serious technological changes that have completely re-architectured the industry. We had a lot of printing companies in the past?there are a lot less today than there were 10 years ago. Through change is opportunity. There is opportunity in growth. A printing company today looks very different than a printing company five years ago or 10 years ago."

With digital technology, the role of printers has changed dramatically. Ms. Kahanec noted that they have gone from being the last in line?just being handed a file and doing the final output?to being involved from the very beginning of the process, helping to plan projects, suggest changes, and partner with clients to create a more powerful end product. Printers have stepped up and taken responsibility for jobs from creation through distribution. This is a good thing, she notes, as it means printers not only become more involved in the job, but the end result takes full advantage of the technology and capabilities the printer has available.

Advice from a Pro
For those coming into this industry, Ms. Kahanec has one major piece of advice: "Understand the application. Make sure you know it better than anyone else."

"She is a dynamic force in this industry," said Diane Romano, 2005 Woman Executive of the Year. "Every time I look at what she's done with her career, I applaud her. On top of [being an expert in digital variable-data printing technology], she is just a sweetheart. I think she's terrific."

One of the things that makes Ms. Kahanec a Woman Executive of the Year is not only her accomplishments, but her desire to share what she has learned.

She is an active member of many industry associations, including the Association of Graphic Communications (AGC), Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF), and Partnership in Print Production (P3). She also sits on the customer advisory boards of several manufacturers, including Eastman Kodak.

Her philosophy is that no one lives in a bubble, and it's important to not only stay educated and up-to-date on new technologies, but also to help educate the next generation.

"Without somebody like Cheryl, you can have the equipment, you can have the ability, but if you can't explain new ideas and new concepts to people, it doesn't do you much good."

David Jurist, chairman, Tanaseybert, noted that one of Ms. Kahanec's strengths is her ability to take difficult and complicated subjects and explain them in a way that not only makes the concepts understandable, but gets people interested and involved in the learning process.

"I am very proud of Cheryl. I'm very proud she won this award, I think it's awesome. Cheryl has an enormous amount of knowledge in areas most of us don't. The biggest compliment I can give Cheryl is her ability to explain what's very difficult for people to understand in a very easy way, where people literally understand what she is saying. Without somebody like Cheryl, you can have the equipment, you can have the ability, but if you can't explain new ideas and new concepts to people, it doesn't do you much good."

"I nominated Cheryl Kahanec for Printing News' Florence Joachim Woman Executive of the Year because of her knowledge, her accomplishments, and her willingness to share all of her knowledge freely with everyone," said Mac Byrd, director of strategic sales and marketing, Pictorial Offset Corp.

"Although she works for a competitor, I admire her knowledge of variable-data printing and digital presses. I admire her understanding of the way that this technology can and will impact the way businesses will communicate with their customers?now and in the future," Mr. Byrd continued.

"I admire the way that Cheryl is at-once both mentor and student with everyone she speaks with as she shares her ideas, and seeks the ideas of others," he went on to say. "I admire Cheryl's understanding of people and her empathy for the human experience. I admire her knowledge of marketing communications, and experience of creating change in seemingly stagnant situations. And I admire her courage. Lets face it, I admire Cheryl Kahanec. She is the caliber of person, both professionally and personally, that deserves this recognition."