Sonoco announces CEO succession plan

Packaging Solutions

Sonoco Products Company has announced that R Howard Coker will retire from his role as director, president and chief executive officer (CEO), effective on December 31, 2026, following over 40 years with the company. The board of directors has appointed and elected Ernest D Haynes III, currently president, global consumer packaging, to succeed as president and CEO and as a director of the company.

John R Haley, chairman of the board, said: ‘On behalf of the entire board, we are deeply grateful to Howard for his leadership and distinguished service to the company. As CEO, Howard has led Sonoco through a defining period of transformation. He reshaped Sonoco into a more focused company built around scaled, market leading consumer and industrial packaging businesses with a strong balance sheet. This transition to Ernest reflects the board’s thoughtful succession planning process, and we appreciate Howard’s close partnership with the board that has resulted in today's announcement. We look forward to benefiting from his continued counsel during the transition.’

He continued, ‘Throughout Ernest’s nearly 30 year career at Sonoco, he has proven himself to be a seasoned operator and commercial leader with a deep understanding of our businesses. Ernest has led our metal packaging and rigid paper packaging businesses through the integration of our largest acquisitions and has held operational leadership roles in our industrial paper packaging business. His knowledge of our customers and markets, and his track record of execution, make him uniquely qualified to lead Sonoco in its next phase of growth and value creation.’

R Howard Coker said, ‘It has been the honour of my career to serve as CEO of Sonoco, a company I have known all my life. I want to thank our 22,000 team members around the world for their dedication to our purpose, Better Packaging. Better Life, and for everything they do for our customers, communities and shareholders. Now is the right time to hand leadership to the next generation as part of our orderly succession planning process. Ernest is a proven leader who has built a deep understanding of our business across nearly three decades with Sonoco. I have tremendous confidence in him and look forward to supporting him through the transition.’

Ernest Haynes said, ‘I am honoured and appreciative to our board of directors for trusting me to lead Sonoco, and I am energised by the opportunity to guide this tremendous organisation going forward. Through Howard’s leadership, we are inheriting a strong foundation that positions us well for the future. I am thankful for his investment in me, and we will work closely together to ensure a seamless transition. I am looking forward to working with our global leadership team to accelerate value creation while delivering innovative solutions within our markets. We will focus on delivering sustainable growth, profitability improvement and efficient capital allocation to creation lasting value for our customers, our shareholders and our people.’

He currently serves as Sonoco’s president, global consumer packaging, a role he assumed in August 2026. Since joining Sonoco in 1997, he s has held numerous leadership roles across both the company’s consumer and industrial segments, including president, consumer packaging, Americas; president, Sonoco Metal Packaging Division; vice president, Rigid Paper Containers, North America; division vice president and general manager of Rigid Paper and Containers, North America, and division vice president and general manager of Tubes and Cores, US and Canada.  Prior to that, he was director of manufacturing for tubes and cores.

He also chaired Sonoco’s Corporate Quality Council, reflecting his deep commitment to operational excellence and quality throughout the organisation.