The new president of O-I Europe as of 1 January 2013 will be Erik Bouts, who has over 25 years of experience leading diverse executive management teams. He will be based at O-I’s European Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Owens-Illinois, Inc., (O-I), the world’s largest glass packaging maker, has named Erik Bouts as its new president of O-I Europe. Effective 1 January 2013, Bouts succeeds Jose Lorente, who will leave the company after a 34-year career with O-I.
Bouts will accelerate O-I’s efforts to strengthen its leading market position in Europe. In 2013, O-I will invest USD 175 million (EUR 140 million) in its European facilities, improving quality, sustainability and capabilities to better support the growing need of European customers for more sustainable and healthy glass packaging solutions.
“Erik’s experience in leading major manufacturing companies and his strong focus on execution and results will be invaluable on our journey to strengthen our competitiveness in Europe,” said Al Stroucken, O-I chairman and chief executive officer. “He comes to O-I with a strong record of successfully rallying organizations around new ideas and strategies, while building strong relationships with customers, business partners and the workforce.”
Bouts has over 25 years of experience leading diverse executive management teams. Prior to joining O-I, he was CEO of The Glidden Company, part of AkzoNobel Architectural Paints Division in the US, where he was instrumental in spearheading major transformational programmes and developing market focused strategies to drive growth. Bouts holds a Masters in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Tilburg (the Netherlands) and will be based at O-I’s European Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
O-I’s European business comprises 8,000 employees in 11 different countries. With more than USD 3 billion (EUR 2.3 billion) of sales in 2011, the region represents approximately 40 per cent of the company’s global sales.