O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: O-I) (the “Company” or “O-I”) today
announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has appointed
Gordon J. Hardie, current O-I Board member, as the Company’s next
Chief Executive Officer, effective the later of May 15, 2024 or the
date Gordon is issued his work-authorized U.S. visa. Gordon will
also continue as a member of O-I’s Board, where he has served since
2015. He succeeds Andres Lopez, who previously announced his
intention to retire.
Gordon is a seasoned executive who brings over 35 years of
leadership and operational expertise, including overseeing
transformations at global companies to achieve industry-leading
positions. Most recently, he served as President, Food &
Ingredients at Bunge Limited, a global agribusiness and food
company, where he was responsible for leading the strategic
development and global performance of the business.
“Gordon’s appointment as CEO follows a comprehensive search
consistent with our long-term succession planning process,” said
John H. Walker, Independent Board Chair. “Gordon is a proven leader
with extensive experience in the packaged food and beverage
industry, bringing valuable customer perspective. Having served on
the O-I Board for nearly nine years, he also has a deep
understanding of our business, operations and culture – and most
importantly, the opportunities ahead. The Board is confident that
Gordon will take the Company into its next phase of innovation and
growth.”
“I am honored to take on the role of O-I’s next CEO at this
exciting time in the Company’s history,” said Gordon. “I know
firsthand that our culture of innovation and the tremendous talent
at every level of the organization is what differentiates O-I as an
industry leader. Together, with the rest of the Board and O-I
management team, I look forward to building on our strong
foundation and delivering future value creation for our customers
and stockholders.”
“I have worked closely with Gordon from our time together on the
O-I Board, and I believe he is the ideal leader to take O-I to the
next level," said Andres. “I am extremely proud of what the O-I
team has accomplished, from developing breakthrough innovations to
advancing new standards in sustainable glass manufacturing and will
be celebrating the team's continued successes for years to
come."
O-I Announces Changes to the Board
O-I today also announced the nominations of Eric J. Foss and
Cheri Phyfer to stand for election to the Company’s Board at its
2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) to be
held on May 15, 2024. In addition, the Company announced that John
H. Walker is retiring from his role as Independent Board Chair and
a member of the Board, effective as of the Annual Meeting. The
Board will appoint a new Board Chair at the conclusion of the
Annual Meeting.
Eric is an experienced executive having previously served as
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aramark, a
leading global provider of food, facilities and uniform services,
until he retired from his roles in 2019. Before then, he served in
senior leadership roles across various divisions of PepsiCo, Inc.
In addition, he has extensive public company board experience and
currently serves on the boards of Primo Water Corporation,
Cineworld Group and The Cigna Group.
Cheri has significant operating expertise, currently serving as
Executive Vice President and Group President at Fortune Brands
Innovations, Inc., a building products manufacturer and
distributor, where she is responsible for the company’s brand,
innovation and channel organization. Prior to Fortune Brands, Cheri
spent over 20 years at The Sherwin-Williams Company, including
running two of the company’s largest store divisions before serving
as President of the Consumer Group.
John said, “As part of our commitment to strong governance
practices, including active board refreshment, we are pleased to
nominate Eric and Cheri for election to the O-I Board. Eric and
Cheri are both proven leaders who each bring extensive experience
in areas directly relevant to our business, and we expect their
perspectives to be value-additive to the important work
underway.”
John added, “It has been an honor to serve as Chair of O-I’s
Board and to have contributed to the Company’s transformation into
the more capable, resilient, agile and disciplined organization it
is today.”
Andres concluded, “On behalf of my fellow directors, I want to
thank John for his dedication to O-I, including three years as
Board Chair. We have all benefitted from his business
transformation and technology expertise, and, on a personal note,
it has been a pleasure to both work with and learn from him. We
wish him all the best.”
In connection with the changes announced today, following the
Annual Meeting, O-I’s Board will continue to comprise ten
directors, nine of whom will be independent.
Complete biographies for each of the nominees for the O-I Board
will be available in the Company’s definitive proxy statement,
which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in
connection with the upcoming Annual Meeting.
About O-I
At O-I Glass, Inc. (NYSE: OI), we love glass, and we are proud
to be one of the leading producers of glass bottles and jars around
the globe. Glass is not only beautiful, it is also pure, healthy,
and completely recyclable, making it the most sustainable rigid
packaging material. Headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio (USA), O-I is
the preferred partner for many of the world’s leading food and
beverage brands. We innovate in line with customers’ needs to
create iconic packaging that builds brands around the world. Led by
our diverse team of approximately 23,000 people across
68 plants in 19 countries, O-I achieved revenues of $7.1
billion in 2023. Learn more about
us: oi.com / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements related
to O-I within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements
reflect O-I’s current expectations and projections about future
events at the time, and thus involve uncertainty and risk. The
words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will,” “could,” “would,”
“should,” “may,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend,” “predict,”
“potential,” “continue,” and the negatives of these words and other
similar expressions generally identify forward-looking
statements.
It is possible that O-I’s future financial performance may
differ from expectations due to a variety of factors including, but
not limited to the following: (1) the general political, economic
and competitive conditions in markets and countries where O-I has
operations, including uncertainties related to economic and social
conditions, trade disputes, disruptions in the supply chain,
competitive pricing pressures, inflation or deflation, changes in
tax rates and laws, war, civil disturbance or acts of terrorism,
natural disasters, public health issues and weather, (2) cost and
availability of raw materials, labor, energy and transportation
(including impacts related to the current Ukraine-Russia and
Israel-Hamas conflicts and disruptions in supply of raw materials
caused by transportation delays), (3) competitive pressures,
consumer preferences for alternative forms of packaging or
consolidation among competitors and customers, (4) changes in
consumer preferences or customer inventory management practices,
(5) the continuing consolidation of O-I’s customer base, (6) O-I’s
ability to improve its glass melting technology, known as the MAGMA
program, and implement it within the timeframe expected, (7)
unanticipated supply chain and operational disruptions, including
higher capital spending, (8) seasonality of customer demand, (9)
the failure of O-I’s joint venture partners to meet their
obligations or commit additional capital to the joint venture, (10)
labor shortages, labor cost increases or strikes, (11) O-I’s
ability to acquire or divest businesses, acquire and expand plants,
integrate operations of acquired businesses and achieve expected
benefits from acquisitions, divestitures or expansions, (12) O-I’s
ability to generate sufficient future cash flows to ensure O-I’s
goodwill is not impaired, (13) any increases in the underfunded
status of O-I’s pension plans, (14) any failure or disruption of
O-I’s information technology, or those of third parties on which
O-I relies, or any cybersecurity or data privacy incidents
affecting O-I or its third-party service providers, (15) risks
related to O-I’s indebtedness or changes in capital availability or
cost, including interest rate fluctuations and the ability of O-I
to generate cash to service indebtedness and refinance debt on
favorable terms, (16) risks associated with operating in foreign
countries, (17) foreign currency fluctuations relative to the U.S.
dollar, (18) changes in tax laws or U.S. trade policies, (19) O-I’s
ability to comply with various environmental legal requirements,
(20) risks related to recycling and recycled content laws and
regulations, (21) risks related to climate-change and air
emissions, including related laws or regulations and increased ESG
scrutiny and changing expectations from stakeholders, (22) risks
related to our long-term succession planning process and the other
risk factors discussed in O-I's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
It is not possible to foresee or identify all such factors. Any
forward-looking statements in this document are based on certain
assumptions and analyses made by O-I in light of its experience and
perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected
future developments, and other factors it believes are appropriate
in the circumstances. Forward-looking statements are not a
guarantee of future performance and actual results or developments
may differ materially from expectations. While O-I continually
reviews trends and uncertainties affecting O-I’s results of
operations and financial condition, O-I does not assume any
obligation to update or supplement any particular forward-looking
statements contained in this document.
For more information, contact:
Chris Manuel, Vice President of Investor
Relations567-336-2600Chris.Manuel@o-i.com
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