Kirwan will report to Opus executive director Richard Celarc, who said: "Roger has a great industry track record. Opus needs the right people as it grows its business, and he is part of expanding our talent team.
"He brings a wealth of talent and experience to Opus, which is one of the leading specialist players in the Asia Pacific region."
Kirwan told ProPrint: "I am looking forward to my new role at Opus given its leading position in the marketplace and strong management team."
Kirwan held the role of general manager of national operations at Geon during a period of significant restructuring at the group, which consolidated its production in NSW and Victoria into single supersites at Banksmeadow and Mt Waverly, respectively.
It is expected this experience would come in handy at Opus, which is still working through the process of integrating McPherson's Printing Group, which it acquired in late 2011.
Previous to the national operations role, Kirwan was general manager of Geon's NSW business.
He resigned from the group in the lead-up to Christmas 2012.
[Related: Is restructuring all it's cracked up to be?]
Kirwan joined Geon in 2006, following more than five years with New Zealand-based flexible packaging supplier FPS International.
Kirwan's move to Opus bears a striking resemblance to the trajectory of his former Geon colleague Glen Draper, who had been Kirwan's opposite number as Geon's national general manager of sales and marketing, and formerly as the general manager of its Victorian and ACT business.
Opus, Blue Star and Geon all have strong links to private equity, and all have seen dramatic changes to their ownership structures over the past year.
Opus was created out of a consolidation play led by Knox Investment Partners in 2007, and was listed on the ASX last year.
Blue Star and Geon were also M&A creations, driven by CHAMP Private Equity and Gresham Private Equity respectively. Blue Star is now in private hands after being broken up and sold to Geoff Selig and Tom Sturgess, while Geon has a new pair of owners in KKR and Allegro.
[Related: Ups and downs of Opus]
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter