Glatfelter announced that Boris Illetschko has been appointed to the role of senior vice president, chief operating officer. He replaces the company’s current senior vice president, chief commercial officer, Christopher W. Astley, and senior vice president, Integrated Global Supply Chain and IT, Wolfgang Laures, both of whom will leave the company effective immediately. The company noted that these changes are not related to Glatfelter’s operations, financial reporting or controls, or personal conduct.

“Since joining Glatfelter, I have assessed the leadership skills and capabilities that are essential to driving Glatfelter’s financial performance improvement, which led me to consolidate the company’s commercial and supply chain leadership into a single, integrated chief operating role. I am delighted that Boris Illetschko will be serving in this capacity given his previous experience leading multi-national commercial and supply chain functions throughout Europe, North America, and Asia,” says Mr. Thomas M. Fahnemann, president and chief executive officer. “Also, I want to thank Chris and Wolfgang for their respective 12 years and three years of dedicated service and commitment to Glatfelter, and for the support they have provided to me during my early Glatfelter tenure.”

Fahnemann continued, “My goal with these changes is to streamline the decision-making and real-time assessment of the business needs for the commercial and supply chain functions under one single point of accountability for delivering results. This restructuring provides for an effective combination of strengths and capabilities from our long-tenured leaders, whose deep knowledge of our business and the markets we serve, remains invaluable. When combined with our recently hired leaders who bring new insights and external perspectives, we gain the best combination of comprehensive talent. I am excited to lead this team to a new level of performance.”

Most recently, Illetschko served as global group chief commercial officer & group managing director for voestalpine Rotec GmbH, Krieglach, Austria, where he was responsible for 10 production facilities located in North America, Europe, and China. Prior to this role, he worked as an independent industry consultant from 2017 to 2019. From 2011 to 2017, Illetschko worked for Semperit AG Holding, Austria where he was responsible for various roles including corporate development and mergers and acquisitions, as well as general manager for a global business segment with production sites in Europe, India, and China.

Illetschko is an Austrian citizen and holds several degrees, including a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto, Canada and Advanced Management degrees from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), United Kingdom, as well as the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.

Illetschko will join Glatfelter after completing his legally required notice period with his current employer, which will conclude no later than October 1, 2023. During this interim period, Fahnemann will provide direct leadership to the management who will report into Illetschko upon his arrival.