TAPPI’s membership recently elected three new officers to its Board of Directors (BOD). Representing a broad swath of industry segments, TAPPI’s volunteer BOD has successfully guided the policies and general affairs of the Association throughout the course of its 111- year history. The Board consists of a Chair, Vice Chair, and nine Directors. Its past and present list of Directors spotlights a long line of industry icons.
Meet the newest Directors on the TAPPI Board.
Todd Grace is the President of Andritz Pulp & Paper North America, where he is responsible for overall operations, strategy, and performance across the region. He has been actively engaged in industry leadership and governance. Grace previously served as a board member for the Association of Suppliers to the Paper Industry (ASPI) and currently serves on the Andritz U.S. and Canadian retirement benefits committees. He is also on the Board of Directors for three Andritz legal entities. Over the course of his 35-year career with Andritz, he has held a wide range of positions in process engineering, R&D, technical sales, and management, across all areas of the pulp & paper industry. A trained Engineer, Grace is an inventor on 14 U.S. patents
Keith Hamilton is the President of Georgia-Pacific Corrugated where he has responsibility for operations and business performance across GP’s entire corrugated portfolio. In his 30-year career, Hamilton has led a number of diverse businesses and has an extensive operations background including time with General Motors Corporation and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company prior to joining Georgia-Pacific. He currently sits on the Board for TAPPI’s Corrugated Packaging Council and the Association of Manufacturing Excellence (AME) and is a member of the Fibre Box Association (FBA) Safety Committee. He is a United States Navy veteran and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Florida State University and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
James McDonald is Chief Sustainability Officer for Sylvamo. He is responsible for developing and coordinating Sylvamo’s global ESG strategy, sustainability, community engagement programs, Sylvamo’s 2030 goals and key customer initiatives. Prior to this role, McDonald worked with International Paper for 24 years, most recently as director of the global citizenship department, where he supported the creation of several enterprise wide programs, including setting the Vision 2030 goals. He also worked in the environment, health and safety organization where he held various positions dealing with workers’ health, environmental regulations, health and safety programs and sustainability initiatives.
TAPPI would like to thank Directors Bill Edwards, Kelly Frey, Greg Jones and Leslie Petrie for completing terms in March 2026. Jones retired from his first three-year term on the TAPPI Board and was re-elected as a director to serve a bridge year.
The following officers and directors will continue to serve on the Board in 2026:
- Kim Nelson, GranBio USA, Chair
- Michael Farrell, Graphic Packaging, Vice Chair
- Lawton Roberts, President and CEO, TAPPI
- Wendy Cerilli, Irving Tissue
- Scott Frasca, MiniFibers
- Dan Goymerac, Miron Construction
- Mike Gray, Valmet
- Maria Soledad Peresin, Clemson University
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