DURBAN - Sappi has appointed Marco Eikelenboom as CEO of Sappi Europe effective 1 April 2021.
Eikelenboom is currently Vice President Marketing & Sales, Graphic Papers at Sappi Europe.
He will be succeeding Berry Wiersum, a 40-year veteran of the industry in Europe, who will retire at the end of March 2021. Wiersum joined Sappi as CEO of Sappi Europe, a position he held for 14 years.
Steve Binnie, Chief Executive Officer of Sappi Limited said, “I would like to thank Berry for his significant service to Sappi during his 14 years with the company and for the support he has shown me as CEO. He is an outstanding leader both for the company and for the industry”.
“When I was appointed CEO in 2014, Berry provided me with invaluable support, and he was a member of the executive committee that developed and rolled out our debt reduction strategy through to 2012 as well as our Vision2020 and now our Thrive25 business strategies,” added Binnie.
Eikelenboom joined KNP in 1992 and after KNP Leykam was acquired by Sappi in 1997, he was appointed Managing Director of Sappi Benelux in 1998.
In 2002 he transferred to Sappi Southern Africa as Marketing Director for the Fine Paper division, returning to Sappi Europe in 2004 as Director Marketing & Sales for Graphic Papers.
In 2009 he was promoted to Vice President Marketing & Sales for Graphic Papers. As a member of the European Management team, he is fully engaged in the ongoing restructuring and refocusing of Sappi’s European operations.
On the appointment of Eikelenboom, Binnie said, “I am pleased that we are able to ensure a smooth transition in leadership from Berry to Marco. I am confident that under Marco’s leadership the business will take full advantage of the exciting opportunities for the pulp and paper industry in Europe and across their export markets”.
Eikelenboom holds a MBA from Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands) and has undertaken various executive education programmes at IMD, MIT Sloane/IMD and INSEAD.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE