Paper and packaging firm Sappi has announced that sales and marketing VP Graeme Wild will lead its Southern Africa unit beginning in December, succeeding Alex Thiel, who is retiring after 14 years.
Wild, who has completed the executive education programme at Harvard Business School, holds a BSc in forestry from the University of Stellenbosch and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs).
He joined Sappi Southern Africa in 1995 as a forester, eventually being appointed as strategy manager for Sappi Forests before joining Sappi Ltd. In 2012, he was named group head of investor relations and sustainability and in 2021 moved to his current role in the company.
“Graeme is an experienced leader who has served the group at a global level, has deep understanding of investors as well as the increased priority of sustainability concerns,” said Sappi CEO Steve Binnie. “He has been integral to the development and execution of Sappi’s strategy and the investments and decisions we have made in SA to ensure we maintain our domestic leadership in paper and packaging, along with our dissolving pulp and forestry asset investments.”
Sappi, which is valued at R28.6bnon the JSE, sells raw materials such as dissolving pulp, wood pulp, biomaterials and timber, as well as end-use products, including packaging papers, speciality papers, graphic papers, casting and release papers and forestry products.
Thiel, who has a 34-year history with Sappi, is credited with leading the restructuring and repositioning of the SA business back to profitability after 2010.
Binnie lauded Thiel’s contribution to turning the business around by streamlining and focusing its operations and product portfolio, increasing customer engagement, improving efficiencies and safety performance, and implementing several expansion and performance improvement projects, including the recent dissolving pulp expansion and environmental improvements project at Saiccor Mill.
“He successfully refocused the business on the dissolving pulp and containerboard segments with sales revenue increasing from R11,7bn to R27,1bn and ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] from R1.8bn to a record R6bn,” said Binnie. “I also wish to commend him on his leadership during the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruptions of 2021 and 2022.”
The Johannesburg-based company said Thiel would assume new strategic project duties until his retirement at the end of December 2025.
Sappi has been bogged down by several challenges, including the logistics nightmare in SA, which is characterised by poor railway infrastructure and port bottlenecks, and weak demand and consumer confidence related to the slowing global economy.
However, it has earmarked about $500m (about R9.4bn) for capital projects over the next two years, with a third of the funds to be funnelled towards expansionary capital expenditure.
Sappi shares were up 1.35% to R48.20 by midday Thursday.
gumedemi@businesslive.co.za
Sappi names Graeme Wild as SA operations CEO
Alex Thiel will assume new strategic project duties until his retirement at the end of December 2025
Industrial Reporter
Paper and packaging firm Sappi has announced that sales and marketing VP Graeme Wild will lead its Southern Africa unit beginning in December, succeeding Alex Thiel, who is retiring after 14 years.
Wild, who has completed the executive education programme at Harvard Business School, holds a BSc in forestry from the University of Stellenbosch and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs).
He joined Sappi Southern Africa in 1995 as a forester, eventually being appointed as strategy manager for Sappi Forests before joining Sappi Ltd. In 2012, he was named group head of investor relations and sustainability and in 2021 moved to his current role in the company.
“Graeme is an experienced leader who has served the group at a global level, has deep understanding of investors as well as the increased priority of sustainability concerns,” said Sappi CEO Steve Binnie. “He has been integral to the development and execution of Sappi’s strategy and the investments and decisions we have made in SA to ensure we maintain our domestic leadership in paper and packaging, along with our dissolving pulp and forestry asset investments.”
Sappi, which is valued at R28.6bnon the JSE, sells raw materials such as dissolving pulp, wood pulp, biomaterials and timber, as well as end-use products, including packaging papers, speciality papers, graphic papers, casting and release papers and forestry products.
Thiel, who has a 34-year history with Sappi, is credited with leading the restructuring and repositioning of the SA business back to profitability after 2010.
Binnie lauded Thiel’s contribution to turning the business around by streamlining and focusing its operations and product portfolio, increasing customer engagement, improving efficiencies and safety performance, and implementing several expansion and performance improvement projects, including the recent dissolving pulp expansion and environmental improvements project at Saiccor Mill.
“He successfully refocused the business on the dissolving pulp and containerboard segments with sales revenue increasing from R11,7bn to R27,1bn and ebitda [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] from R1.8bn to a record R6bn,” said Binnie. “I also wish to commend him on his leadership during the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruptions of 2021 and 2022.”
The Johannesburg-based company said Thiel would assume new strategic project duties until his retirement at the end of December 2025.
Sappi has been bogged down by several challenges, including the logistics nightmare in SA, which is characterised by poor railway infrastructure and port bottlenecks, and weak demand and consumer confidence related to the slowing global economy.
However, it has earmarked about $500m (about R9.4bn) for capital projects over the next two years, with a third of the funds to be funnelled towards expansionary capital expenditure.
Sappi shares were up 1.35% to R48.20 by midday Thursday.
gumedemi@businesslive.co.za
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