Cork native Gordon Hardie has been named incoming chief executive of US glass containers giant O-I Glass, which employs 23,000 globally and generated $7.1 billion (€6.6 billion) of sales last year.
O-I Glass, formerly Owens-Illinois, said that Mr Hardie, a board member since 2015, will take charge from the middle of May, subject to a US work visa being approved by then. He succeeds Andres Lopez, who previously announced his intention to retire.
The appointment will leave three of the world’s largest packaging groups — also including cardboard box maker Smurfit Kappa and glass and metal containers giant Ardagh Group — under the influence of Irish men.
Dublin-based Smurfit Kappa, led by Tony Smurfit, is seeking to engineer a merger with US peer WestRock to create a group with $34 billion of annual sales.
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Ardagh Group has been built by Irish financier Paul Coulson over the past 25 years, through a series of acquisitions, into a group with $9.4 billion in sales. He holds an effective 36 per cent stake in the business, which includes New York-listed subsidiary Ardagh Metal Packaging.
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Mr Hardie previously served as head of US agribusiness group Bunge’s food and ingredients business.
Last November, he quit the board of Aryzta along with another non-executive director, amid tension over how long the Swiss-Irish baking company’s head, Urs Jordi, should continue in his dual roles of chairman and interim chief executive. He was Aryzta’s only remaining Irish director at the time.
Mr Hardi, who holds Irish and Australian citizenship, had joined Aryzta in December, 2020, to complete a boardroom overhaul at the time.
“Gordon’s appointment as CEO follows a comprehensive search consistent with our long-term succession planning process,” said John H Walker, O-I’s chairman.
“Gordon is a proven leader with extensive experience in the packaged food and beverage industry, bringing valuable customer perspective. Having served on the O-I board for nearly nine years, he also has a deep understanding of our business, operations and culture — and most importantly, the opportunities ahead.”
O-I Glass is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has a market value of $2.42 billion.
Mr Hardie also previously served on the board of Irish sandwich maker Greencore between 2020 and 2022. His 35-year career also includes periods with Irish Distillers, where he worked in the 1990s, and Sydney-based Goodman Fielder Bakery.
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