Drew McLaren helps CFR clients make practical decisions that improve performance in the print, packaging, and graphic communications industries, especially when the business is growing, changing hands, or simply needs tighter execution.
What Drew Brings to Clients
Drew has spent more than 30 years in print as a business owner, including leading a family-run operation with 55 employees. That time in the owner’s seat shapes how he works. He understands pricing pressure, capacity constraints, and the day-to-day tradeoffs that affect profitability. Before print, he spent a decade in tier 1 packaged goods companies, which gave him a strong base in marketing, brand strategy, and management. He brings that commercial background into operational conversations, so leadership teams can align what they sell, how they deliver, and what it actually takes to hit financial goals.
Drew is also direct about the people side of running a business. Through years of involvement in industry peer groups and family business associations, he has helped other owners work through governance questions, shareholder alignment, and structured succession planning. When a business is preparing for a leadership transition, a key hire, or a future transaction, he helps the team deal with the hard constraints first, then build a plan that holds up under real-world conditions.
- Focus area: Drew helps owners and leadership teams align strategy, financial discipline, and operational capacity so execution matches the plan.
- How Drew works: He uses structured reviews and practical operating plans that tie day-to-day decisions to financial results, with clear priorities and accountability.
- What clients gain: Clients gain clearer options, better execution, and stronger readiness for leadership transition, key hires, or a future deal.
Relevant Experience in the Industry
Drew’s credibility comes from long-term, hands-on leadership in print. He served as President of McLaren Press Graphics Ltd for more than 32 years, which gave him firsthand experience making calls on capacity, pricing, and operational tradeoffs. His earlier career in packaged goods marketing informs how he looks at positioning, customer expectations, and the need for sales and operations to support each other. He also brings an analytical, numbers-first perspective, grounded in economics, which helps teams assess risk, return, and the practical limits that can quietly block growth.
How CFR Can Help
Drew’s background fits CFR’s core work across strategic business consulting, recruiting and staffing, and mergers and acquisitions. On the consulting side, he helps leadership teams connect strategy to operational reality, with governance and succession planning built in when ownership and management transitions are in play. When talent is the constraint, he supports leadership assessment and executive recruitment needs, complementing CFR’s recruiting, placement, and staffing services for roles that require both operational and commercial judgment. For companies considering an acquisition, sale, or partnership, he helps teams get organized early, understand what drives value, and reduce avoidable surprises before due diligence begins.
Connect with CFR
If you want a candid, operator’s view of what will help your business run better, grow responsibly, or plan a transition, reach out to CFR. Contact CFR
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