Bemis Appoints COO William Austen As CEO

(RTTNews) - Bemis Company, Inc. (BMS) said Thursday that it has appointed William Austen as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

Austen succeeds Henry Theisen, who will continue as Executive Chairman of the company until his planned retirement at the 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Austen has also been elected to the Bemis Board of Directors.

Austen has held a variety of leadership positions during his 14-year career with Bemis. After joining the company in 2000 as President of Bemis' Pressure Sensitive Materials division, he was elected Vice President of Operations in 2004, Group President in 2012, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2013. Prior to joining Bemis, Austen spent 20 years in various leadership positions at General Electric Co. (GE).