James Rubright of RockTenn Wins RISI's 2011 North American CEO of the Year Award

BEDFORD, Massachusetts, August 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, has named Mr. James Rubright, Chairman and CEO of RockTenn, as the 2011 North American Forest Products CEO of the Year.  The award will be presented to Mr. Rubright at RISI's 26th North American Forest Products Conference in San Diego, CA on October 3-5, 2011.

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Mr. Rubright was chosen as the RISI North American CEO of the Year by a group of investment analysts and portfolio managers covering the forest products industry.  The analysts responded to a survey organized by RISI and the criteria for nomination included leadership, vision and strategic accomplishment.  Mr. Rubright was selected as the winner due to his significant achievements and overall leadership of RockTenn.  Specifically noted in his nomination was the recent acquisition of Smurfit-Stone by RockTenn. Both competitors and independent converters have responded positively to the recent acquisition which has brought RockTenn to a new level in the industry as one of the most respected and profitable integrated paperboard and packaging companies in North America.  Responding to the announcement Mr. Rubright commented, "This award recognizes the success and global competitiveness RockTenn has accomplished through the hard work and innovative solutions of our 26,000 dedicated employees."

Mr. Rubright is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RockTenn, one of North America's leading manufacturers of corrugated and consumer packaging and recycling solutions. Before joining RockTenn as CEO in 1999, he served as Executive Vice President of Sonat, Inc., a diversified energy company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. At Sonat, he was the head of Sonat's interstate natural gas pipeline and energy services businesses. Prior to 1994, he was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding.

Mr. Rubright served in 2007 as Chairman of the board of the American Forest & Paper Association, the national trade association of the forest, pulp, paper, paperboard and wood products industry. He is a director of AGL Resources, Inc., an energy company, and Forestar Group, Inc., a real estate and natural resources company. He received a B.A. degree from Yale College and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School.

Mr. Rubright was also named RISI's North American CEO of the Year in 2008 and he won the Global CEO of the Year Award at the PPI Awards in 2009.

In addition to collecting his award in at the RISI North American Conference, Mr. Rubright will join the CEO panel and present the keynote speech.  Mr. Rubright will join a host of industry leading speakers at the event, including representatives from the AF&PA, Weyerhaeuser, Biomass Power Association, North American Wholesale Lumber Association, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Bank of American/Merrill Lynch, CIBC, Boise, Futuremark and Clearwater Paper.  RISI's economist and engineers will also give their two year outlooks for the North American and global forest products industry.

About the RISI North American Conference

The 26th RISI North American Forest Products Conference will be held at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, CA on October 3 - 5, 2011. The conference will address some of the key issues in today's North American forest products industry.  HP, ColorLok, Stepchange, Yale and RBC have signed on as official sponsors for the event. More information regarding the conference program and registration details are available online at:  http://www.risi.com/na_conf.

About RISI

RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, wood products, timber, biomass, tissue, nonwovens, printing and publishing industries to help them make better decisions.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, RISI operates additional offices throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. More information can be found at http://www.risi.com.

About RockTenn

RockTenn is one of North America's leading producers of corrugated and consumer packaging and recycling solutions, with net sales of $10 billion. Based in Norcross, GA, RockTenn employs approximately 26,000 people and operates more than 245 facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and China.

With a low cost position in the marketplace, RockTenn commits to exceeding its customers' expectations, every time, with innovative, low cost paperboard and corrugated packaging solutions. 

Contact:
Jennifer Plourde
Associate Marketing Manager
RISI
4 Alfred Circle
Bedford, MA 01730 USA
Tel: +1-781-734-8917
jplourde@risi.com