Management Team Named for Smurfit-Stone Merger
The senior management team of the newly formed Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. merger has been jointly announced by the parent companies, Stone Container Corp. and Jefferson Smurfit Corp. Appointments included operations management and the corporate staff.
As previously announced, Michael Smurfit, 62, will be non-executive chairman, and Roger Stone, 63, will serve as president and CEO. Operating units of the company will report to Stone, as will Ray Curran, 52, Smurfit-Stone's exec. VP and deputy chief executive, and Patrick J. Moore, 43, Smurfit-Stone's VP and CFO.
On completion of the merger, Richard Graham, president and CEO of Smurfit, will join the board of Smurfit-Stone and continue his role on the transition steering team. The U.S. operating executives will be as follows:
Operations Team
James Duncan, 57, will serve as VP and GM of a newly formed specialty packaging div., which will include Smurfit's existing industrial and consumer packaging businesses. He is currently VP and general manager of Smurfit's industrial packaging div. and joined the company in 1989.
Gordon Jones, 48, will be VP and GM of containerboard marketing, logistics, and domestic and export sales of containerboard, kraft paper, and pulp. He is currently sr. VP and GM of Stone's container div. and has been with the company since 1983.
Matthew Kaplan, 41, will be VP and GM of Smurfit-Stone's container div. Kaplan is currently sr. VP, North American operations for Stone, and has been with the company since 1979. The container div. of Smurfit-Stone will be by far the largest corrugated container business in the industry and will be organized into two regions, each managed by a senior executive. James Davis and William Eustice will be the vice presidents in charge of the two container div. regions. Davis is currently VP and GM of Smurfit's container div. and consumer packaging div. He is a 20-year veteran of the company. Eustice is currently a VP and regional manager of Stone's container div. He joined the company in 1966.
Scott Macfarlane, 52, will continue as VP and GM of the folding carton and boxboard mill div., a position he has held at Smurfit since 1995. Macfarlane has held various management posts since joining the company in 1971.
John Riconosciuto, 45, will be VP and GM of Smurfit-Stone's multiwall and specialty bag business, a responsibility he has held since 1995. Riconosciuto has been with Stone Container since 1981.
David Stevens, 64, will be VP and GM of Smurfit-Stone's recycling operations. Stevens has been VP and GM of Smurfit's recycling operation (Smurfit Recycling Co.) since 1993 and has been with the company since 1987.
William Wandmacher, 55, will be VP and GM of the company's North American containerboard mill operations. He will also be responsible for woodlands, wood procurement, and landowners' assistance. He has been VP and GM of Smurfit's containerboard mill div. since 1993. He has held various production and management posts since joining the company in 1966.
Stone's international operations will continue to report to Roger Stone. John Bence, 66, will be VP, European packaging operations. He is currently responsible for overseeing Stone's operations in Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, Spain and the UK. Lorne Parnell, 55, will be VP, Pacific operations. He currently holds the same post for Stone Container, and joined the company in 1978.
Jose Santos, 64, will be VP, Latin American operations. He currently holds the same position for Stone Container, and joined the company in 1994. Finally, Allen Koleff, 60, will be VP of environmental affairs. Koleff, currently Stone Container's VP, environmental, energy, and process technology, has been with the company since 1975.
The newsprint and market pulp operations, as well as purchasing and planning, will report to Ray Curran. Jay Lamb, 50, will continue in his role as VP and GM of Smurfit's newsprint operations. Thomas Pagano, 51, currently VP of planning for Smurfit, will be VP of planning for the merged company.
Corporate Staff
The corporate staff of Smurfit-Stone will report to Pat Moore. Michael Harrington, 58, will be VP, employee relations. He has been vice president, human resources for Smurfit since joining the company in 1992.
James Hayssen, 43, will be VP of information technology for Smurfit-Stone. He joined the company in 1981 and has held various management positions with Smurfit Packaging Corp. Charles Hinrichs, 44, will serve as VP and treasurer of Smurfit-Stone. He has been VP and treasurer of Smurfit since joining the company in 1995.
Paul Kaufmann, 44, will be corporate controller of Smurfit-Stone. He is currently Smurfit's corporate controller and has held several financial management positions with Smurfit since joining the company in 1990.
Timothy McKenna, 50, will be Smurfit-Stone's VP,investor relations and communications. He is currently VP, investor relations and communications for Smurfit, having joined the company in 1995. Thomas Pavlini, 47, will be VP of distribution. Pavlini is currently Stone's VP and GM, corporate transportation. He joined the company in 1984.
Gayle Sparapani, 47, will be VP of compensation and benefits. Sparapani is currently VP, human resources and benefits for Stone. She joined the company in 1978. Glen Thornell, 61, will be dir. of internal audit. He has been with Smurfit since 1978 and is currently dir., internal audit.
During July, Smurfit and Stone Container completed compliance with and received necessary approvals under the antitrust requirements in the U.S., the European Union, and Canada to proceed with their pending merger.