DS Smith has announced the appointment of five key leaders within the North America division to compliment an expanding U.S. footprint.  

These strategic hires will be involved in some of DS Smith’s key initiatives for the Paper and Packaging divisions, following on DS Smith’s expansion to the U.S. and opening of its Atlanta headquarters, the launch of its 550,000-square-foot packaging facility in Lebanon, Ind., and the opening of its first U.S. recycling facility in Reading, PA.

The new hires are:

• Ryan Roberts will serve as the sheeter business unit general manager. Roberts’ background includes senior leadership roles in contract packaging, manufacturing engineering, sales, marketing and commercial operations in the U.S. and Singapore for Unilever and Sealed Air. A packaging engineer graduate from Michigan State University, he also has an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Roberts is based out of DS Smith’s corporate headquarters in Atlanta.
• Troy Hagenbuch joins DS Smith’s Columbia, S.C., Greencoat facility as the specialty business unit general manager. Hagenbuch brings leadership experience from IP, FiberMark and Cenveo Corp. and is an electrical engineer graduate from Penn State University.
• Melanie Galloway, vice president of sales, marketing and innovation for Packaging, will bring her experience from FMC Corp., Kemin Industries, JM Huber and MacDermid Graphic Solutions to the role. A chemical engineer, pulp and paper technology graduate from North Carolina State who has an MBA recipient from Duke, her expertise includes a strong sales, marketing and innovation background along with general management and P&L leadership. Galloway is based out of DS Smith’s corporate headquarters in Atlanta.
• Steven Pittler, sales director for DS Smith’s Lebanon, Ind., packaging facility. Previously, Pittler was midwest regional manager at Atlantic Tape and Packaging. Pittler brings extensive knowledge in operations, including coatings, as well as commercial experience across multiple site businesses.  
• Adam Olson, sales director for Greencoat, brings extensive food industry experience with companies such as Sysco, where he implemented strategies to drive top line growth while building relationships with key customers. Olson is based in Baltimore, Md.

“As we expand our sustainable packaging, paper and recycling operations in North America, these new hires will help us continue to innovate and strengthen the vision and leadership in North America that DS Smith customers across the globe expect, and carry out our company purpose of ‘Redefining packaging for a changing world,’” said Mark Ushpol, managing director of packaging at DS Smith.