WestRock CEO wins top executive award

Steve Voorhees, CEO of paper recycler and manufacturer WestRock Company, has been named the Customer Executive of the Year for 2016 by the Association of Suppliers to the Paper Industry (ASPI). Voorhees is scheduled to accept his award at the ASPI 2016 Spring Meeting, to be held Feb. 24-26, 2016, in Miami, Florida.

“Steve Voorhees has been a leader in the paper and packaging industry for many years and has helped lead the successful formation of WestRock following a merger last summer,” says ASPI President Mike Gray, who also is a sales vice president in the United States for Finland-based paper mill equipment supplier Valmet. “Steve’s aspiration for WestRock is to become an unrivaled partner for companies in the paper and packaging industry, and that includes strong relationships with all of its suppliers. We look forward to recognizing his contributions to the industry and hearing from him at our Spring Meeting in Miami.”

WestRock Company, Norcross, Georgia, manufactures paper and packaging products in the consumer and corrugated markets. The company’s 41,000 employees serve customers around the world from nearly 270 operating and business locations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.

Voorhees was CEO of RockTenn before it merged with MeadWestvaco to create WestRock. Prior to his appointment as CEO of RockTenn, he served for the company in various executive leadership roles, including president and chief operating officer; executive vice president and chief financial officer; and chief administrative officer.

Before joining RockTenn, Voorhees was in operational and executive roles at Sonat Inc., an energy company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Northwestern University in Illinois and a master of business administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

ASPI, based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, says its Customer Executive of the Year Award is presented annually to a customer executive who has worked diligently within his company, and with his company’s suppliers, to dramatically increase the benefits to his company of its supplied goods and services. Nominations are accepted from ASPI member companies, and the ASPI Board of Directors votes on submitted nominations.

ASPI is an association of companies that supply products and services to the pulp, paper and board industries. Member participation consists primarily of CEOs, owners, and senior management executives. The group says its mission is to assist its member supplier companies in providing increased economic benefits to their customers through collective knowledge, initiatives and effort.