Board of Directors

Irial Finan joined the Board in February 2012. He was appointed Chair in May 2019. He was Executive Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company and President of the Bottling Investments Group from 2004 until he stepped down from the role in December 2017 and retired in March 2018. Prior to this Mr Finan served as Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company SA. He joined the Coca-Cola System in 1981. He served on the Board of Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Holdings Inc. until March 2023. Irial is a Board member of Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.

Anthony Smurfit has served as a Director of the Group since 1989. He has worked in various parts of the Smurfit Kappa Group both in Europe and the United States since he joined the Group. He was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer in September 2015, prior to which he was the Group Chief Operations Officer from November 2002. He was also Chief Executive of Smurfit Europe from October 1999 to 2002 prior to which he was Deputy Chief Executive of Smurfit Europe and previously Chief Executive Officer of Smurfit France. He is a Board member of CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries), and is also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists.

Ken Bowles was appointed a Director in December 2016. He joined the Group in 1994 and has occupied a number of finance roles in various parts of the Group. Mr Bowles was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer in April 2016, prior to which he was the Group Financial Controller from 2010. He was the Group’s Head of Tax from 2007 to 2010 prior to which he was appointed as the Group's first Head of Compliance in 2004. Mr Bowles is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants and holds a first class MBA from the UCD Graduate School of Business.

Anne Anderson joined the Board in January 2019. She is an experienced international diplomat who most recently served as the Ambassador of Ireland to the United States from 2013 to 2017. Ms Anderson joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1972 and was appointed Assistant Secretary General in 1991 serving in this post until 1995. She was then appointed Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva after which she became Permanent Representative of Ireland to the European Union in 2001. Following this Ms Anderson was appointed Ambassador of Ireland to France in 2005, where she served until 2009. In 2009 she became Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York. Ms Anderson is also Chair of the Board of Advisors at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, Washington and a Board member of the Druid Theatre Galway.

Frits Beurskens has served as a Director of the Group since December 2005. He joined the Kappa Group in 1990 and held various Managing Director positions until his appointment as its President in 1996 which he held until the merger with Smurfit. He is a former Chairman of both the Confederation of European Paper Industries and the International Corrugated Cases Association and a former member of the Board of Sappi Limited. In December 2007 he was knighted and appointed by the Dutch Queen as Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau.

James Lawrence joined the Board in October 2015. He is currently Chair of Lake Harriet Capital, LLC, an investment and advisory firm. He served as Chair of Rothschild North America from 2012 to 2015 and previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Rothschild North America from 2010 to 2012. Prior to this, Mr Lawrence served as Chief Financial Officer and an executive Director of Unilever plc. Mr Lawrence joined Unilever from General Mills where he was Vice-Chair and Chief Financial Officer. He previously also held senior positions with Northwest Airlines and Pepsico Inc. He is a non-executive Director of Avnet, Inc. and Aercap Holdings N.V.

Carol Fairweather joined the Board in January 2018. She was Chief Financial Officer and an executive Director of Burberry Group plc from July 2013 to January 2017. She joined Burberry in June 2006 and prior to her appointment as CFO, she held the position of Senior Vice President, Group Finance. Prior to joining Burberry, Ms Fairweather was Director of Finance at News International Limited from 1997 to 2005 and UK Regional Controller at Shandwick plc from 1991 to 1997. Ms Fairweather currently serves as a non-executive Director of Segro plc. Ms Fairweather is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen joined the Board in March 2017. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Carlsberg AS. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Carlsberg AS from 2007 until he retired from this position in 2015 having joined the company in 2006. He previously held senior positions in several global FMCG companies, including Gillette Group, Duracell, Mars and Unilever over the previous 28 years. He was a Board member of Novozymes AS from 2011 and Chair from 2017 until March 2023.  Jørgen is Chair of Uhrenholt AS and Chair of the Advisory Board member of Blazar Capital.

Lourdes Melgar joined the Board in January 2020. Ms Melgar is an academic and strategic advisor recognised for her expertise in energy, sustainability and governance. As former Vice Minister for Electricity from 2012 to 2014 and Vice Minister for Hydrocarbons from 2014 to 2016, she played a key role in the design, negotiation and implementation of Mexico’s 2013 Energy Reform. Previously, as a career diplomat, she held various positions in Mexico’s Foreign Service and at the Ministry of Energy. Ms Melgar is a Board member of Banco Santander Mexico S.A and an Independent Director of CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. She is a Research Affiliate at the Center for Collective Intelligence of MIT ’s Sloan School of Management and an Independent Board member of Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet

Kaisa Hietala joined the Board in October 2020. She spent over twenty years at Neste Corporation, where she was a key architect in the strategic transformation of the company to become the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and renewable jet fuel. She served as Executive Vice President, Renewable Products at Neste Corporation and as a member of the Neste Executive Board from 2014 to 2019. Prior to this she held a number of senior positions including VP, Renewable Fuels, Neste Corporation. Ms Hietala was previously a non-executive Director of Kemira Oyj from 2016 to 2021. She is currently a non-employee Director at Exxon Mobil Corporation and non-executive Director of Rio Tinto.

Mary Lynn Ferguson-McHugh joined the Board in January 2023. She spent over 35 years at Procter & Gamble, where she held a number of senior leadership positions, including her roles as Chief Executive Officer of Family Care (Paper Products) and P&G Ventures, positions she held since 2019 having served as Group President of Family Care (Paper Products) since 2014 and P&G Ventures since 2015. Prior to that, from 2011, Ms Ferguson-McHugh was based in Switzerland where she held the position of Group President Western Europe and then Group President Europe. She is a non-executive Director of Molson Coors Beverage Company and a Board member of FJ Management Inc. and GOJO Industries Inc.