Packaging business Sonoco (SON: Quote) on Monday announced the appointment of Jack Sanders as president and chief executive officer of the company, effective April 1, 2013. Sanders, currently president and chief operating officer of the company, was also elected to Sonoco’s Board of Directors, effective immediately, increasing the board to 13 members.
59-year-old Sanders currently has global leadership, sales and operating responsibility for all of the company’s diversified packaging businesses. He will assume office as president and chief executive officer when Harris DeLoach Jr. retires as an active employee after more than 27 years with Sonoco.
Sanders joined Sonoco in 1988 as national sales and marketing manager for the company’s Reels business. In 1992, he became general manager of Sonoco’s new Protective Packaging business. He was promoted in 1998 to division vice president and general manager of Protective Packaging.
He was elected a corporate officer and named vice president, Industrial Products, North America, in 2001. He subsequently became vice president, Global Industrial products in January 2006 and assumed responsibility for all industrial converting businesses as senior vice president in July 2007.
In 2008, Sanders was named executive vice president, Industrial, with global operating responsibility the company’s businesses serving industrial markets. This includes Sonoco’s tubes and cores, paper, reels, protective packaging, paperboard specialties and recycling businesses.
Prior to assuming his current position, Sanders served as the executive vice president of Sonoco’s Global Consumer businesses, where he was responsible for Rigid Paper and Closures, Rigid Plastics, Flexible Packaging and Display and Packaging.
DeLoach, 68, is currently chairman and chief executive officer and has served as CEO since July 2000. He has been a member of Sonoco’s Board of Directors since 1998 and chairman of the Board of Directors since 2005. He will remain its executive chairman after his retirement on March 31, 2013.
During DeLoach’s tenure as CEO, Sonoco grew sales from $2.7 billion to a projected $4.75 billion in 2012, while its asset base nearly doubled to more than $4 billion. Also during his time at the helm, the company returned around $1.6 billion to shareholders in cash dividends and share repurchases.
SON closed at $30.07 on Friday.
To receive FREE breaking news email alerts for Sonoco Products and others in your portfolio
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com