Kwilinski Replaces Buzzard as Fort Dearborn CEO
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Kwilinski Replaces Buzzard as Fort Dearborn CEO
Fort Dearborn Co., Elk Grove, Ill., USA, a supplier of high-impact prime labels for consumer goods, this week appointed Kevin Kwilinski CEO. Kwilinski, former CEO of Paperworks Industries, a privately held recycled paperboard packaging company, assumes leadership responsibilities from Jim Buzzard, who will resume his role as non-executive chairman of the Fort Dearborn Board of Directors.
"Kevin brings more than two decades of experience in the global packaging industry and a track record of developing and executing successful growth strategies," said Buzzard. "His professional experience exemplifies Fort Dearborn's core values of customer intimacy, financial discipline, and a performance-driven culture, and I am confident he will help Fort Dearborn become the leading North American prime label supplier."
"I am excited to lead Fort Dearborn through its next stage of growth and look forward to helping the company continue to deliver best-in-class value to customers," said Kwilinski. "Fort Dearborn is poised to pursue strategic initiatives, including attracting and retaining top talent and pursuing additional growth through existing and new customers as well as strategic acquisitions."
At Paperworks, Kwilinski guided the company's growth by supporting an aggressive go-to-market strategy and simultaneously implemented continuous improvement processes that resulted in a significant improvement in product quality, customer service levels, and customer satisfaction. Prior to Paperworks, Kwilinski served as CEO of Portola Packaging, a global food and beverage rigid packaging company. Under his leadership, Portola experienced rapid growth through new product development, market share gain, and acquisitions. Before joining Portola, he was SVP of supply chain for Graphic Packaging, a $4 billion global paperboard packaging company, with responsibility for sales, operations, and inventory planning, continuous improvement, and acquisition integration.
