Sonoco Products Company has announced senior leadership changes, effective Jan. 3, 2025. Jerry Cheatham, who has been part of Sonoco’s finance team for 36 years, has been appointed as interim chief financial officer, replacing Rob Dillard, who left the company. Cheatham, formerly vice president of Global Finance for the Industrial Paper Packaging segment since December 2022 has held various finance and accounting leadership positions since joining the company in 1988. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from South Carolina State University and an EMBA from Vanderbilt University. Sonoco is conducting both an internal and external search to select a permanent chief financial officer.
In addition, Shawn Munday, Vice President, Strategic Finance, will continue in his current position. He is responsible for global treasury, tax and mergers and acquisitions functions. Prior to joining Sonoco in 2022, he was a professor of finance and executive director of the Private Equity Institute at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. He also served as a managing director in Citigroup’s alternative assets group and was a commissioned submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy.
John Florence, Sonoco’s general counsel and secretary, will assume additional operational responsibilities for the North American Paper division, in addition to leading the Converted Paper Products division in the region. Florence will report to Coker in his legal duties and to James Harrell, president of Industrial Paper Packaging, in his operational duties.
Sonoco will announce its fourth quarter and full year 2024 results on February 18, 2025, after the market closes. The company will host a conference call on February 19, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Time).
