Business News
Graham Packaging Names Mark S. Burgess Chief Executive Officer; Warren D. Knowlton to Become Executive Chairman
Monday 22. December 2008 - Graham Packaging Company, L.P., today announced that Mark S. Burgess, currently serving as chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the company, has been named chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2009.
Warren D. Knowlton, who has served as chief executive officer since 2006, is resigning as CEO, effective December 31, but has agreed to continue with the company in the role of executive chairman.
“In the last two-plus years, we have taken Graham Packaging through a significant and meaningful change process,” Knowlton said. “We have focused on achieving financial targets, ensuring that a vigorous program of continual earnings improvement became part of our culture and on making sure that we have the best and brightest of our people in key jobs. At the same time, over this period, we have significantly improved our safety and workmanship quality standards to industry best-in-class. The results have been rewarding in that Graham Packaging has beaten budget and forecast for the past two years, spent less capital more wisely, and exceeded cash flow targets.”
Knowlton added, “Mark Burgess has worked closely with me in every step of this process, contributed often and well, and has a total grasp of the complexity of the issues facing Graham Packaging as we move forward.”
Chinh Chu, senior managing director of The Blackstone Group, majority owner of Graham Packaging, said, “Mark Burgess is extremely talented and experienced and we look forward to him leading Graham Packaging. We would also like to thank Warren Knowlton for his dedicated service to Graham Packaging and for driving its successful turnaround. We are pleased that Warren will be remaining as the company’s executive chairman.”
Burgess has served as chief financial officer of Graham Packaging since 2006 and as chief operating officer since April 2008. He previously served as president and CEO, as well as CFO, of Anchor Glass Container Corporation, where he led the company through a successful financial restructuring. Before that he served as executive vice president and CFO of Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., and prior to that was at JL French Automotive Castings, Inc. He holds a B.A. in economics from Dickinson College and an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
The company is in the advanced stages of searching for a new chief financial officer to replace Burgess. In the interim, Burgess will continue to fulfill the role of chief financial officer.