David Scheible, who successfully transformed the company, remains as Chairman of the Board through the May 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK) today announced the appointment of Michael P. Doss as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2016. Mr. Doss succeeds David Scheible, who will preside as Chairman of the Board through the May 25, 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Jeffrey H. Coors, Lead Director, said, "It has been a pleasure to work with David for the past 17 years as he led the company's financial and cultural transformation and built a firm foundation for sustained, long-term growth. He has taken Graphic Packaging from a highly leveraged position to a top-performing packaging leader, expanded the business as a growing international company, and created a culture of innovation and execution excellence. I wish to express the Board's gratitude for David's exceptional vision, intense passion and tireless dedication."
In May 2015, Mr. Doss, age 49, was named President and Chief Operating Officer and was elected to the Board of Directors. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in November 2013, taking responsibility for the company's global operations. Mr. Doss has held positions of commercial and operational leadership during his 25-year career with Graphic Packaging, including Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations, and Senior Vice President for the company's Consumer Packaging Division. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Marketing and a Master of Business Administration in Finance, both from Western Michigan University. He is also a graduate of Harvard University's General Manager Program.
"Today's announcement reflects a seamless executive leadership transition," continued Mr. Coors. "In recent years, Mike helped engineer and execute the company's strategic direction. After a careful and diligent succession planning process, we are confident that Mike is absolutely the right leader to take Graphic Packaging to the next level of performance."
"I am very proud of the many accomplishments we have achieved working together since I joined the company in 1999," said Mr. Scheible. "We have established Graphic Packaging as a clear leader in our industry. We have done so by reducing debt, expanding EBITDA margins, growing earnings per share, and significantly increasing stock price in the face of challenging operating environments. I am equally as proud that we have built a culture of excellence that will drive enduring success for our company in the future. Becoming President and CEO is the natural next step for Mike, whose partnership with me has been critical in engineering the company's transformation into a singularly focused, vertically integrated business. He will bring a fresh perspective to the CEO role, as he continues on the strategic path he helped shape and execute over the past several years. There is no better leader for Graphic Packaging than Mike, given his commitment and passion for the business, deep industry and customer knowledge and keen leadership skills."
"This opportunity is an incredible honor. I am grateful to the Board for their confidence in me and to David for his mentoring over many years," said Mr. Doss. "Graphic Packaging is a dynamic and growing company with a strong leadership team. We have the right strategy in place, our business is robust, our people are the best in the industry, and our culture continues to drive operational excellence. I look forward to leading Graphic Packaging into our next chapter."
The announcement comes as Graphic Packaging continues its profitable growth trend. The company recently reported another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, reflecting the success of a strategic emphasis on growing its core business through innovation, focused investments and acquisitions for geographic and channel expansion.
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