Sappi North America announces leadership changes

Vice president and casting and release paper managing director Tom Collins will retire and leave the paper industry and Sappi’s release business after a career spanning more than four decades.

With Collins’ departure, Deece Hannigan will now serve as the vice president for the newly expanded packaging and specialties business. Formerly the vice president of the coated paper and packaging business, Hannigan now will maintain his leadership of the packaging, supply chain and inside sales groups, while assuming accountability for the specialties business, including release.

A graduate of the North Carolina State University, Hannigan joined Sappi in 1988 and has held a number of positions in sales management, marketing and technical specialties.

Rick Skoglund, the former director of coated sheet grades, will join the lead team as vice president of coated business. He will be responsible for the growth of the coated graphics business. Skoglund has held a number of marketing and brand management roles with increasing responsibility at several companies, including Welch’s, High Liner Foods and Sappi when he joined the company in early 2015. Rick has a bachelor’s degree from Union College, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Beth Cormier, vice president of research, development and innovation, will expand her responsibilities to include coated paper, packaging and specialties paper to capture efficiencies and more closely align research and development capabilities regionally and globally. Cormier has more than 30 years with the company in R&D and marketing roles, and has been leading the R&D group since 2007. She has a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from University of Maine and a MBA from Boston University.

‘While we’re sad to see Tom go, we’re thankful for the 25 years of dedication, innovation and leadership he gave us,’ said Mark Gardner, president and CEO of Sappi North America. ;Tom’s contribution has helped us position ourselves to grow and expand. The future is exciting, and we are confident that this combination of our Release and Packaging businesses, together with the increased leadership of Deece, Rick and Beth, will only make it stronger.’