Tony Smurfit

Anthony Paul James Smurfit (born 1963) is an English born Irish businessman. He serves as the President and CEO of FTSE 100 packaging company Smurfit WestRock, which is named after his grandfather, John Jefferson Smurfit.

Tony Smurfit
Smurfit in 2019
Born	Anthony Paul James Smurfit[1] 1963 (age 60–61) Wigan, United Kingdom
Alma mater	University of Scranton
Title	CEO of Smurfit WestRock
Spouse	Sharon Devlin ​ (m. 1990)​ [2]
Children	4
Family	Michael Smurfit (father)

Early life and career

Smurfit was born in 1963 in Wigan in Lancashire to businessman Michael Smurfit and Norma Triesman.^[3][4] He attended the Irish St Gerard's School and the American University of Scranton, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management in 1985.^[5][6] Subsequently, Smurfit spent some time in Japan to study the packaging industry.^[5]

He joined Jefferson Smurfit – then led by his father – in the 1980s and was appointed director in 1989.^[5] He served in several positions in the United States and Europe including as head of Smurfit France.^[7][8] He became chief operations officer (COO) of the company's European division in 1999 after having been deputy for a year.^[9][10] Smurfit was promoted to COO of the entire company in November 2002.^[9]

In September 2015, he was appointed CEO of Smurfit Kappa following the retirement of his predecessor, Gary McGann.^[9] Besides, Smurfit is on the boards of the Confederation of European Paper Industries and Ibec, and he is a Mexican honorary consul in Ireland and a member of the European Round Table for Industry.^[1][11] Previously, he had also been a board member of Aer Rianta (1996–2001) and C&C Group (2012–2016).^[12][13][14]

Personal life

Smurfit is married to former model and actress Sharon Devlin and has four children.^[3][4] One of his hobbies is horse breeding, having been a member of the Irish National Stud's board.^[5][15]

References

1. "Anthony Paul James Smurfit, 55". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
2. "Thinking Outside the Box Makes a World of Difference" (PDF). The Scranton Journal. Vol. 28, no. 1. 2006. p. 17. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
3. Collison, Liam (5 May 2002). "The jet-setting, high-living paper dynasty". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
4. "Tony Smurfit". European Round Table for Industry. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
5. Canniffe, Mary (18 October 1996). "Fathers's Son". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
6. "Tony Smurfit to Speak at The University of Scranton President's Breakfast". University of Scranton (Press release). 22 April 2003. Retrieved 12 September 2002.
7. O'Dwyer, Peter (2 May 2015). "Smurfit to take helm at packaging group". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
8. Barrington, Kathleen (23 September 1998). "Tony Smurfit takes No 2 job in Europe". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
9. Newenham, Pamela (1 September 2015). "Smurfit Kappa appoints Tony Smurfit as group CEO". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
10. Murphy, David (14 January 1999). "Keeping up the family tradition". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
11. "Diplomatic List" (PDF). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. August 2020. p. 200. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
12. Ross, Shane (17 June 2001). "Blarney director joins Aer Rianta". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
13. "Aer Rianta Board". The Irish Times. 22 January 1999. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
14. "Tony Smurfit retires from C&C Board of Directors". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
15. Ryan, Conor (31 May 2020). "Private clients connected to National Stud paid €235,000 to use facilities". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 12 September 2020.