Leading British card and gift manufacturer Carte Blanche Greetings put on a surprise party for one of its most loyal and long-serving staff, Steve Blakemore, who is operations director for the company.Steve started his career as a humble Sales Executive, selling Carte Blanche’s range of cards into Independent stores across the UK. He was one of the first salespeople to sell the Me to You brand of cards when they launched in 1995 and formed part of the team to launch Me to You plush at the NEC in 1997. Founder Stephen Haines, quickly spotted his talent and passion for greeting cards and promoted him in 1998 to National Sales Manager where he kept a close eye on the Clintons account among others.
Steve joined the Board in 1999 as Sales Director, later becoming Customer Service and Greeting Cards Category Director. In 2014, Steve took up the role of Operations Director and is now responsible for leading all product development and creative operations across the Carte Blanche Group.
Carte Blanche Group Founder and Chairman, Stephen Haines comments, “It’s been a great pleasure and tremendous fun working with Steve over the past 25 years and I for one am looking forward to more exciting times working alongside Steve at Carte Blanche. 25 years at one company is certainly a milestone to be celebrated and I thank Steve for his many years of hard work and dedication, constantly pushing Carte Blanche to the forefront of the industry.”
Steve’s hard work was recognised this week at an intimate celebration in Arundel, close to the company’s Head Office, where both colleagues, family and suppliers toasted Steve’s success.He is pictured here with CEO Alister Marchant.
