Novolex has named Tamer Abuaita as its new chief operating officer, three months after completing its $6.7 billion acquisition of Pactiv Evergreen.
Abuaita succeeds Doug Owenby, who was previously Pactiv Evergreen’s COO and has served as interim COO for Novolex during the initial business integration period. Owenby will remain with the company in an advisory position, according to a news release.
Abuaita is immediately assuming the position and will oversee all of the company’s global operating functions. He has more than 30 years of operations experience and most recently served as chief supply chain officer and president of industrial at Stanley Black & Decker. Previously, he held senior roles at Nestlé, The H.J. Heinz Company, Kraft Heinz and SC Johnson.
Abuaita will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where food, beverage and specialty packaging company Novolex is headquartered. He will report to CEO Stan Bikulege.
“His deep expertise across manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and procurement will be pivotal as we centralize, optimize and accelerate our operations,” said Bikulege in a news release. “With Tamer’s experience and leadership, we are well positioned to unlock the full potential of our newly combined organization and maximize value for our customers, employees and all other Novolex stakeholders.”
Other than Owenby’s interim COO position, so far Novolex largely has kept its own C-suite in place during the transition. Bikulege was CEO of Novolex prior to the acquisition, while former Pactiv Evergreen CEO Mike King was said to become an advisor after the deal closed. Novolex also retained CFO Dennis Norman, who joined that company in 2021. One exception is Chief Transformation Officer Chuck Whittington, who previously was senior vice president of business transformation at Pactiv Evergreen.
Pactiv Evergreen went private and delisted from the Nasdaq when the acquisition closed. Novolex has expanded in recent years through a variety of acquisitions. Earlier this year, the company opened a postconsumer plastic film recycling center in Indiana, in partnership with Nova Chemicals.
