PERRYSBURG, Ohio, Jan. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/
-- Owens-Illinois, Inc., (NYSE: OI), the world's largest glass
packaging maker, announces the pending retirement of Senior Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer Edward C. White. White, who turns 65 in June,
plans to retire at the end of the second quarter. He will be
succeeded by Stephen P. Bramlage,
Jr., currently president of O-I's Asia Pacific operations.
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White has served as chief financial officer and a member of
O-I's global leadership team since 2005. In his 38-year career at
O-I, White has held a multitude of financial, manufacturing and
marketing positions in many U.S. locations, as well as in
Finland, Poland, France and Switzerland. In addition to his current role
leading finance and investor relations, White has been involved in
all aspects of O-I's expansion in international markets. He has
been an officer of the company since 1999, when he assumed the
position of vice president and corporate controller. He was one of
the architects of O-I's business model to focus exclusively on
making glass containers. And he co-led the company's successful
integration of its acquisition of European glass producer BSN
Glasspack in 2004.
"Under Ed's leadership, O-I has significantly strengthened its
financial flexibility," said CEO and Chairman Al Stroucken. "We have more than doubled
earnings during his tenure, significantly strengthened our free
cash flow and reduced net debt by $1.6
billion. Ed has been instrumental in shaping our global
strategies. Steve has served as a member of my leadership team for
the last year and is very familiar with our global strategies, as
well as the financial intricacies of the company. We are greatly
indebted to Ed and we appreciate his contribution to O-I. We look
forward to an orderly transition of responsibilities from Ed to
Steve during the second quarter."
Bramlage began his career at O-I in 2006 as treasurer at the
company's global headquarters. Over 18 months, he recapitalized the
balance sheet, centralized the global treasury function, and
implemented the European shared service center in Switzerland. He later served as the senior
financial officer for O-I's European operations in Switzerland, followed by a stint as O-I's
corporate vice president of finance. In 2010, Bramlage moved into
an operations role, becoming general manager of O-I New Zealand. In
July 2011, he was named president of
O-I's Asia Pacific operations,
headquartered in Australia. This
region represents approximately $1
billion of the company's global sales.
Before joining O-I, Bramlage spent five years at PPG Industries,
Inc., in Pittsburgh, the last
three as assistant treasurer for the global treasury. Bramlage also
worked with Eli Lilly & Company in corporate finance and with
Ernst & Young as an auditor.
White will transition his role to Bramlage in the second quarter
of 2012.
Company Profile
Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI)
is the world's largest glass container manufacturer and preferred
partner for many of the world's leading food and beverage brands.
With revenues of $7.4 billion in
2011, the company is headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio, USA, and employs more than
24,000 people at 81 plants in 21 countries. O-I delivers safe,
effective and sustainable glass packaging solutions to a growing
global marketplace. For more information, visit www.o-i.com.
SOURCE Owens-Illinois, Inc.