Speaker bios
Carol L. Roberts
Senior Vice President, Industrial Packaging
International Paper
Carol has been with International Paper her entire career, 27 years. She began her career in 1981 as an Associate Engineer at the Mobile, Alabama Paper Mill. In 1991, she became the first female Mill Manager and was located at the Oswego, New York facility. She held that position until 1993 when she became General Manager of Kraft Packaging. In 1996, she was given additional responsibility as General Manager for Kraft Paper & Packaging business. In 1997, she was named an officer and Vice President People Development – Human Resources. In October of 2000, Carol was appointed to Vice President – Container The Americas, Industrial Packaging. In this position, Carol had overall business responsibility for approximately 74 container and sheet facilities and 8,000 employees. In November of 2005, Carol was named Senior Vice President, IP Packaging Solutions where she had overall leadership responsibility for the company’s Containerboard, Container The Americas and Coated Paperboard businesses, with approximate sales of $5B and over 13,000 employees. In August 2008, Carol's responsibilities grew when IP purchased Weyerhaeuser's containerboard, packaging and recycling business. IP's Industrial Packaging organization now has approximate sales of $9B and over 24,000 dedicated employees.
Ken Waghorne
Vice President, Packaging Products
RISI
Ken has specialized in the paper packaging markets for RISI since 1983. He provides detailed monthly and quarterly analysis and forecasts of the North American paper packaging markets as well as single- and multi-client studies. His contributions to the RISI multiclient studies include the detailed analysis of the international containerboard
markets, sector-by-sector forecasts for the U.S. folding carton industry, and an analysis of the paper
packaging markets for Latin America. Ken holds a Master of Science degree in Forest Economics from Virginia Tech and his Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from LSU.
Mark Weintraub
Senior Vice President, Buckingham Research
Mark Weintraub, CFA - Paper & Forest Products - BA, Economics, Princeton University.
Mark has covered the paper and forest products industry for over 10 years, previously at
Goldman, Sachs & Co. and First Manhattan Inc. His coverage also extends to land-rich
companies, including the timber REITs, as well as other building products manufacturers.
Consistently top-ranked for Paper & Forest Products in Institutional Investor's "Best of the
Boutiques and Regional Firms" and "Best Independent Firm" surveys. Also named three times
as Best on the Street Paper & Forest Products analyst by The Wall Street Journal.
Mike Jones
Senior Product Manager
RISI
Michael Jones has worked for RISI for five years. Prior to that he worked eight years for Jacobs Consultancy (Jacobs-Sirrine Consultants) until RISI acquired the benchmarking group in 2002. He focuses on benchmarking competitive cost studies for linerboard, corrugating medium, kraft packaging, bleached board, and retail and commercial tissue. He has a total of twelve years benchmarking experience in a range of grades and geographies. Prior to that, Mike worked fifteen years for International Paper. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
John Williams
President
SCA Packaging Europe and Current President of FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers)
Born: 25th April, 1954
Education: English and US Literature - King's College, London University
Professional Background:
1976 - 1981 Mars Group National Account Controller
1981 - 1986 Alberto Culver UK Ltd General Manager, Professional Division
1986 - 1988 Highfield Associate Divisional Director
1988 - 1992 Sweetheart International European Managing Director
1992 - 1995 Huhtamaki CEO - Polarcup
1996 - 2000 Rexam plc Sector Director, Speciality Food Packaging
2000 - 2005 SCA Packaging Ltd Regional Managing Director, UK & Ireland
2005 - SCA Packaging Europe President
Rod Young
Chairman
RISI
Rod Young started modeling and forecasting in the pulp and paper industry in 1977. Since then, his work in international pulp and paper markets has received worldwide recognition. Rod now consults on a regular basis with companies throughout the world. He continues to assist in the development of the RISI analysis and forecast of the world forest products market and has taken on the formidable task of reading through all of the monthly commentaries produced by RISI.
In March 2005, he became President and CEO of Paperloop, which was later renamed RISI in 2006. Rod was appointed Chairman of RISI's Board of Directors in January 2007 upon retiring from his position as President and CEO after 29 years in the pulp and paper industry.
Rod received a Master of Science degree in Forestry Economics from Virginia Polytechnical Institute in 1977 and also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Michigan State University.
Andrés Patino
Vice President of International Sales
Barnett Corp.
Andrés Patino joined Barnett Corporation in 1999 and is currently the Vice President of International Sales. In the last 10 years he has flown over 2.5 million miles throughout Latin America developing the market there for the U.S and Canadian mills.
After graduating as an Industrial Engineer from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 1981, his career began at Smurfit- Cartón de Colombia. While working as an Industrial Security Engineer, he learned about the industry and developed his passion for the business.
Andrés founded and operated Corrutec S.A., a corrugating plant from 1991 until 1999.
Andres also earned an M.B.A. from Universidad IcesiEafit in Cali, Colombia, where he was born. He currently lives on Long Island with his wife and four children.
Simon Southern
Managing Director
Packaging Research Intelligence Strategies & Marketing (PRISM)
Simon has worked in the packaging industry all his working life, starting with Metalbox and then moving into management consultancy.
Simon set up and ran Marketpower – the leading European marketing consultancy specialising in the packaging industry – for around 25 years before selling out Landell Mills in 2000.
Following this he launched PRISM, a consultancy aimed at providing market research, business intelligence and strategic consulting dedicated to the packaging industry.
Over the last 25 years Simon has worked for a wide and diverse range of FMCG companies, packaging converters, material suppliers, equipment manufacturers, trade associations, publishers and financial institutions. He has worked in close collaboration with European, US and global associations; he has written many trade press articles and has given numerous presentations to conferences and seminars.
Glenn R. Landau
Vice President & General Manager, Containerboard
International Paper
Glenn Landau was appointed to his current position as vice president & general manger of Containerboard in 2007. In this role, Glenn has been instrumental in strengthening the Industrial Packaging business and developing the strategy to acquire Weyerhaeuser’s Containerboard Packaging and Recycling business, a transaction that was announced on March 17. When the acquisition is completed later this year, Glenn will have overall profit and loss responsibility and lead the sales, marketing and supply chain processes of what will be an 11.5 million-ton North American containerboard system, the largest in the world. He will also assume responsibility for the newly acquired Recycling business which includes 19 plants in the United States. He reports to Carol Roberts, senior vice president of Industrial Packaging.
Landau began his career with International Paper in 1991 as a process improvement engineer and held a number manufacturing and leadership positions in the company’s US Container division. In 1995, Landau was named plant general manager of IP’s Georgetown, S.C., Container plant. A few years later he was named complex general manager of the Georgetown plant along with the Statesville, N.C., Container plant. In 2001, Landau was appointed the managing director of International Paper Italia SpA within the company’s European Container business. Most recently, since 2004, Glenn was director strategic planning and fiber supply with responsibility for coordinating the strategic direction of the Forest Resources business and providing leadership for the real estate and minerals groups.
William J. Sweeney
Executive Vice President
Packaging Corporation of America (PCA)
Bill Sweeney is responsible for Packaging Corporation of America’s Corrugated Products Group and Containerboard Sales Organization; the network includes 67 corrugated products operations with approximately 6,500 employees and $2.3 billion annual sales.
Sweeney joined PCA in 1990 from Stone Container where he had been Vice President and General Manager of its retail bag division. He had been Vice President and General Manager of the corrugated container division for the Continental Group when it was acquired by Stone in 1983. Prior to the Continental Group, he held various management positions with Boise Cascade, after starting his career with Ford Motor Company.
Sweeney earned a bachelor’s degree from Harpur College at Binghamton University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Denver.
Bob Kinstrey
Director
Pulp and Paper Consultancy
Mr. Kinstrey has 41 years of consulting, operating and technical experience in the manufacture of pulp and paper. He has led and/or participated in over 150 domestic and international studies. He has been an active participant and leader in TAPPI and PIMA. His background combines practical experience with formalized education in engineering and management sciences. He has over 50 presentations and publications that cover a wide range of subjects
With Jacobs, Mr. Kinstrey is the Director, Pulp & Paper Consultancy managing pulp and paper business optimization activities. He provides leadership in process design, development of scope and estimates for major rebuilds, strategic and due diligence studies, and performs process optimization / cost reduction studies.
During the first half of his career he worked in mill operations as a Mill Technical Director, Paper Mill Superintendent, and Assistant Pulp Mill Superintendent for two major operating paper companies.
Paul T. Stecko
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Packaging Corporation of America (PCA)
Paul T. Stecko was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) in April 1999. Prior to PCA, Stecko served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Tenneco, a leading global manufacturer of specialty packaging and automotive parts. He also spent 16 years at International Paper (IP) rising to Vice President and General Manager of the Publication Papers, Bristols and Converting Papers businesses. Prior to joining IP he spent 10 years at Westinghouse Electric where he was engaged in the development and manufacture of nuclear power plants. Stecko received a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from Penn State University in 1966. He also holds a master’s degree in metallurgical engineering and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.
Steven J. Klinger
President & COO
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
Steven J. Klinger is president and chief operating officer for Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation. He is a member of the company’s executive committee. Klinger joined Smurfit-Stone in May 2006 from Georgia-Pacific Corporation where he most recently served as Executive Vice President, Packaging, Pulp and Global Procurement.
During his 23-year career at Georgia-Pacific, Klinger provided strategic leadership that was marked by numerous achievements. Over a six-year period beginning in 2000, Klinger led a team that transformed the Packaging Business at Georgia-Pacific from average industry ROA and ROS to industry leading performance. Klinger played key roles in more than $10 billion of transactions as both corporate development director and executive vice president. He led the successful initiative to centralize global purchasing.
When he joined Smurfit-Stone in May 2006, Klinger began leading Smurfit-Stone’s operations through the company’s three-year transformation program, which includes upgrading the leadership talent, improving the company’s ability to meet customers’ needs, reducing the company’s cost structure, scaling operations, improving technology, specializing the manufacturing process, eliminating redundancies, and aligning sales and marketing.
Klinger is a graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in accounting and Duke University’s Advanced Management Program. In June, 2008 Klinger was appointed to the Board of Directors of Navistar International Corporation. He currently resides in Atlanta with his wife and two daughters.
James R. Keller
President
International Corrugated Case Association (ICCA)
Jim Keller is the President of the International Corrugated Case Association (ICCA), a trade association representing corrugated producers worldwide on issues of common interest.
In January of 2008, Keller retired from Weyerhaeuser Company after a 33-year career. Keller's last position was Senior Vice President, Containerboard Packaging and Recycling. He managed the Containerboard and Packaging segment for Weyerhaeuser from 1997 to April 2007.
Keller joined Weyerhaeuser in 1974 as an investment analyst. From 1977 through 1981 he was in the Land and Timber business in roles that included production, genetics research and business management.
In 1981, Keller became the general manager for the packaging plant in Lithonia, Georgia. He went on to hold a number of sales, finance, and general management positions in various paper products businesses, including containerboard, newsprint and bleached paperboard.
In 1972 Keller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Vermont. In 1974 he received a Masters of Business Administration from Dartmouth College.
His past industry activities include:
- Chairman, AF&PA Containerboard Committee
- Chairman, Fibre Box Association
- Co-chair, Corrugated Packaging Alliance
- Chairman, International Corrugated Case Association
- Board of Directors, International Corrugated Packaging Foundation
He is currently on the board of advisors for the University of Vermont School of Business and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Electronic Engineering & Manufacturing Inc.
Dwight C. Schmidt
President
Fibre Box Association
Dwight spent the first 6 years of his career with Bristol-Myers in packaging, quality, market research and product management functions. He then joined Inland Paperboard and Packaging where he spent 27 years in technical, marketing, sales and operations management with his last position being Senior Vice President of Specialty Packaging. In early 2002 Dwight was recruited by the corrugated industry to be the Executive Director of the Corrugated Packaging Alliance, sponsored by the American Forest and Paper Association and the Fibre Box Association, where he coordinated industry-wide efforts to grow the use of corrugated packaging throughout North America. In February of 2006 he became President of the Fibre Box Association, a corrugated industry trade association whose members represent more than 90% of the corrugated converted in the U.S. He is also Vice President of the America’s for the International Corrugated Case Association.
Dwight is a graduate of Michigan State University’s School of Packaging. He also has an MBA from the University of Evansville and has completed The Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s, Darden School of Business.
Active at his alma mater he is a long standing member of the Michigan State University, School Of Packaging, Industry Advisory Board, a former board member and President of MSU School of Packaging Alumni Association. He has been recognized by his fellow packaging graduates by being elected to their Hall of Fame in 2000, and in 2002 he received Michigan State University's "Distinguished Alumni" award.
He is also a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP), the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI), a board member of the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) as well as past board member and chairman of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation (ICPF.) He also serves on the Industry Advisory Board of Virginia Tech’s School of Unit Load Design and their new packaging program. A patent holder and published, he is also a speaker at numerous regional, national and international industry forums and seminars.
Matt Unger
Purchasing Group Manager
Procter & Gamble
Matt Unger is a Purchasing Group Manager at Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati. Matt has been involved in the packaging industry for nearly 15 years, managing package development and purchases organizations for P&G in the Americas as well as Europe. Responsible for NA corrugated as well as global fiber purchases, Matt and his organization have established relationships with dozens of fiberboard producers and converters. Procter & Gamble spends roughly $4B on packaging goods annually. Roughly half of this is spent in fiber-based packaging.
Russell Swansen
Director Paper Purchasing
Sara Lee
Russell Swansen has 15 years of experience in the CPG industry. The majority of that time has been spent in the areas of Procurement and Materials Management. He has held positions of increasing responsibility from Buyer to Plant Materials Manager to Director. His experience ranges from ingredients to packaging. He is currently Procurement Director for paper based packaging at Sara Lee Corporation. In this role, he and his team are responsible for sourcing and supplier management in the areas corrugated boxes, folding cartons, labels, meat casings, specialty papers, and an assortment of miscellaneous packaging in North America.
Michael R. Harwood
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Pratt Industries
Mike Harwood began his career in the packaging industry, as a Marketing Trainee at International Paper. While at IP, he held numerous Sales, Marketing and General Management positions in the United States. He also held senior management positions with IP in the United Kingdom and Spain.
In 1985, Mike was named General Manager of IP’s Containerboard Division and in 1990 he was elected an officer of the company. As a Vice-President, he managed the Containerboard, Kraft Paper, and Kraft Packaging businesses worldwide.
During 1989 – 1991, Harwood chaired the joint committee of API, AICC, and Fibre Box Association which negotiated revisions to Item 222 and Rule 41 which allowed boxmakers to substitute Edge Crush Testing (ECT) for the traditional mullen test to predict corrugated box performance. This breakthrough in packaging regulations, known today as “the Alternate Rules” was the precursor to Performance Packaging in North America.
Mr. Harwood joined Pratt Industries in 1995 and was named Deputy CEO for the American company in 1996.
Mike is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the Executive College at Manchester University (UK). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of World Containerboard Organization, Fibre Box Association, ICCA, and is a past Board Member of International Corrugated Packaging Foundation.
Will Mies
Editorial Director, Pulp & Paper Week and PPI Latin America News
RISI, Inc.
Will Mies is Editorial Director of RISI’s newsletters, Pulp & Paper Week and PPI Latin America News, and related risiinfo.com online news.
He coordinates a team of seven news editors in San Francisco and Sao Paulo, Brazil, collecting news on the pulp and paper industry. In addition, he covers the containerboard and kraft paper market for P&P Week.
After joining Miller Freeman in 1974, he served as editor and publisher of Pulp & Paper Week for nearly 20 years from its launch in 1979. From 1996-2000 he served as vice president of Miller Freeman’s paper publishing group. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona and holds a M.A. in journalism from Stanford University.
Drew Miller
Senior News Editor, PPI Pulp & Paper Week
RISI, Inc.
Drew Miller is a Senior Editor with RISI’s PPI Pulp & Paper Week. Prior to rejoining RISI in late 2006, he was the West Coast Sales Representative for RISI’s Information Products Group, managed a number of financial reports for the company’s Print and Internet Division, and chaired several management seminars relating to the paper/forest products industry.
Prior to joining the paper unit of then Miller Freeman Inc. in 1994, he worked for Abitibi-Price Inc. where he held a variety of positions within Abitibi’s marketing department, and worked on several special market research assignments. Drew holds a BA from Hamilton College in upstate New York and an MBA in Marketing from St. John’s University.
Anthony Smurfit
President & Chief Operations Officer
Smurfit Kappa Group
Tony Smurfit joined the Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1985 and progressed through positions of increasing responsibility in Europe and the United States prior to taking up his current position as President and Chief Operations Officer in 2002. He is a member of the Board of Directors since 1989. Tony was appointed Honorary Consul of Mexico to Ireland in 2003 and was nominated Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour in 2004. He is a graduate (B.Sc.) of the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey W. Klosterman
Global Category Manager – Packaging
Kohler Company
Jeff has been with the Kohler Company over 35 years. He began his career in 1973 in manufacturing in the Cast Iron Division within the Plumbing Americas group of businesses. He left for a 2 year period to complete his military service with the United States Army serving in Germany. Upon his return in 1975 he rejoined Kohler Co. In 1977 Jeff joined the ranks of manufacturing supervision in operations. In 1982 Jeff became a Program Manager in the Engine division managing and growing the company’s first Quality Circle initiatives serving in that capacity for 2 years. Jeff’s first purchasing role was as an entry level Buyer in the Engine division in 1984. He was promoted through the individual contributor positions and in 1986 was promoted to Purchasing Supervisor and then Purchasing Manager 2 years later in charge of the Plumbing North America group of businesses overseeing purchasing responsibilities spanning across 14 manufacturing locations throughout North America. Packaging within this division is one of the larger categories of spend. Jeff’s current position, held for just under one year, takes his 24 years of Purchasing and more specifically the Packaging category and leverages that experience overseeing strategy development for Kohler Company globally in the Packaging category. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Lakeland College in Wisconsin.
