Sonoco Announces Senior Leadership Changes for 2025

Sonoco Products Company announced senior leadership changes which became effective on Jan. 3, 2025.

Jerry Cheatham, a 36-year finance leader within Sonoco, has been named interim CFO, replacing CFO Rob Dillard, who has departed the Company. Mr. Cheatham has been VP of global finance for the company’s Industrial Paper Packaging segment since December 2022 and previously served in several finance and accounting leadership roles since joining the company in 1988.

The company is undergoing a retained search for internal and external candidates to identify and select a permanent CFO.

“Jerry is a trusted and respected leader within Sonoco who brings strong financial and operational expertise into this role. He will ensure an orderly transition of duties and provide further stability to our global finance organization,” said Howard Coker, president and CEO.

“I want to thank Rob for his contributions since joining the company in 2018, and for helping to build our current finance team and focusing our strategy to transform Sonoco into a global leader in sustainable metal and fiber packaging through several significant transactions, including the acquisitions of Eviosys and Ball Metalpack and the recently announced divestiture of our Thermoformed and Flexible Packaging (TFP) business to Toppan Holdings. We wish him all the best in his future professional and personal endeavors.”

Also reporting to Coker is Shawn Munday, VP of strategic finance. Munday has responsibilities for Sonoco’s global treasury, tax and mergers and acquisitions functions. Before joining Sonoco in 2022, he was professor of the practice of finance and executive director of the Institute for Private Capital at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Prior to that he was a managing director in the alternative assets group at Citigroup and served as a commissioned submarine officer in the U.S. Navy.

John Florence, Sonoco’s general counsel and secretary, who has been serving as GM for the company’s Converted Paper Products division in North America for the last three years, has been given the additional operational responsibilities over the company’s North America Paper division. As general counsel, secretary and VP and GM of Industrial Paper Packaging, North America, Florence will continue to report to Coker for his legal responsibilities and to James Harrell, president, Industrial Paper Packaging, in his operational role.

“John has been with the company since 2015 serving on our executive committee as general counsel. In that time, he also served as our chief human resources officer, and he led the integration of our Metal Packaging business following our acquisition of Ball Metalpack. After successfully serving as GM for our Converted Paper Products business in North America, John will now increase his responsibilities to include our North America Paper business, formally combining these two foundational businesses into a single operating unit representing over $1.4 billion in annual net sales in 2023,” Coker said. “This combination continues our journey to simplify our operating structure to better leverage our competitive strengths, drive growth, and enhance our customers’ experience by bringing together our industry leading Uncoated Recycled Paperboard (URB) mill network with our tube, core, cone, partitions, corner post and other paper converting operations.”

Roger Schrum has been named interim head of investor relations, replacing Lisa Weeks, VP of investor relations and global communications, who will leave the company at the end of January 2025. Schrum returns to Sonoco after retiring in 2022 as VP of investor relations and corporate affairs following a 17-year career with the company.