Dan Felton, who has served as executive director of Ameripen since 2020, will join the Flexible Packaging Association as president and CEO, according to an announcement Tuesday. Felton will step down from Ameripen, the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment, on Nov. 1.
The move comes after Alison Keane left FPA in August for leadership roles at the International Sleep Products Association and Mattress Recycling Council. It now triggers a succession plan at Ameripen, which has formed a committee to oversee the search process.
“As a veteran of the packaging industry trade association world, I’m beyond excited to join FPA, the leading organization for flexible packaging,” Felton said in FPA’s announcement.
Felton has been a notable voice educating and advocating for packaging members as state extended producer responsibility for packaging legislation has ramped up. He provided expert testimony during a U.S. Senate committee hearing in March on packaging EPR.
Felton will now be tasked with leading an expansion of FPA’s meetings and programs, and growing and advocating on behalf of membership, as the organization looks toward a new strategic plan.
FPA highlighted Felton’s past experience in lobbying on packaging and sustainability issues, and increasing association participation and revenue. Ameripen had 39 members in 2019 and grew to 107 by mid-2024 — a list that includes Amazon, Berry Global, ExxonMobil, McDonald’s, Sonoco, WM and numerous CPGs and other packaging manufacturers. FPA, a collaborator of Ameripen’s, has been an associate member of Ameripen.
Felton also reflected in Ameripen’s announcement. “It has been my honor to lead AMERIPEN through significant evolution and growth over the past five years,” Felton said in a statement. “Anyone following packaging policy in the U.S. knows that the past several years have brought seismic shifts to the industry in terms of new laws and regulations impacting the packaging industry.”
FPA, which says it represents a $42 billion industry, has gotten more active this year on Capitol Hill, having formed a federal political action committee, dubbed FlexPAC.
“To reach the flexible packaging industry’s legislative and regulatory goals, FPA needs policymakers in Washington, D.C., and the states who understand the industry and our mission-critical priorities such as extended producer responsibility, toxic bans, and product labeling,” FPA said in its February announcement. “With the 2024 election season in full swing, it has never been more vital to understand the value of political engagement and the need to strengthen the flexible packaging industry’s political resources.”
