Dive Brief:

• International Paper announced Friday that its CFO, Tim Nicholls, will become executive vice president and president of DS Smith, an International Paper company. He will shift to that role on April 1, according to a securities filing Friday. 
• IP also announced it hired Lance Loeffler to replace Nicholls as IP’s senior vice president and CFO. He previously was CFO at Halliburton for four years, and most recently served there as SVP of the Middle East and North Africa region.
• Both leaders will report directly to International Paper CEO Andy Silvernail. Nicholls had been located in IP’s home city of Memphis, Tennessee, but he will be based in London — DS Smith’s home base prior to its acquisition by IP in January — for the new role, an International Paper spokesperson said via email Friday.

Dive Insight:

The newly announced leadership changes suggest the combined company might be undergoing a corporate restructuring as DS Smith is integrated into International Paper. 

An SEC filing from last year said “the combined company will be named ‘International Paper Company.’” But the language in Friday’s news release about the leadership changes, and other recently released news, suggests otherwise.

The news release and Feb. 28 securities filing reference DS Smith by name and say it is “an International Paper company.” This possibly could mean DS Smith will retain its name and operate as a subsidiary — at least for the time being — rather than fully being absorbed by IP and taking on the latter’s name.

International Paper did not directly comment on the company structure or name moving forward.

Nicholls has been IP’s CFO since 2018, and he previously held that position from 2007 to 2011. He has also led IP's packaging business in North and South America.

Nicholls led IP’s side of the integration planning for the company’s acquisition of DS Smith. During an October earnings call, Silvernail announced that Nicholls would serve as the “interim leader” of the combined Europe, Middle East and Africa team after the close; he mentioned these duties would be “in addition to his responsibilities as CFO.”

The SEC document filed Friday says Nicholls will move into “a newly created role” at DS Smith. 

“The new role is consistent with our leadership structure in North America where we created the role of Executive Vice President and President – North American Packaging Solutions, in September 2024, as we prepared for the DS Smith acquisition,” the IP spokesperson said.

Previously filed SEC documents did not indicate Nicholls would formally transition out of the IP CFO role. They also noted Andy Silvernail would be the new company’s CEO, and DS Smith CEO Miles Roberts would remain with the new company in an advisory role. The IP spokesperson confirmed Roberts is serving in a consultancy role, but did not comment on whether the DS Smith CEO position would be retained or eliminated.

Prior to working at Halliburton, Loeffler’s 25-year career also involved finance, strategy and business leadership roles at UBS Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities, according to a news release.

"Lance is an effective and experienced CFO and public company leader with a proven track record of performance. He will be an incredible asset in supporting International Paper's transformational journey as a leading producer of sustainable packaging solutions in North America and EMEA,” Silvernail said in a statement.