Sonoco has announced that Chief Operating Officer Rodger Fuller will retire effective February 28, 2026, concluding a 40-year career with the global packaging group.
Appointed COO in 2020, Fuller has overseen Sonoco’s global consumer and industrial operations, diversified businesses, and information technology. He also served as interim Chief Executive Officer of Sonoco’s Metal Packaging EMEA business through the end of 2025.
Sonoco does not plan to appoint a successor to the COO role. Following Fuller’s retirement, the presidents of each business unit will report directly to Howard Coker, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Rodger is an exceptional business operator and a widely respected leader in the paper and packaging industry,” said Coker. “He consistently took on new challenges and delivered improvements in operational and financial performance. We are grateful for his extraordinary leadership and long-standing commitment to Sonoco.”
Fuller joined Sonoco in 1985 as a customer service representative and progressed through a range of senior leadership roles in North America and Europe. Prior to becoming COO, he served as Executive Vice President of Global Operations and held several senior vice president positions across consumer packaging, protective solutions, and paper and engineered carriers.
Throughout his career, Fuller has been active in industry and community organizations, including board roles with the Sonoco Foundation, The Paper and Packaging Board, and the American Forest & Paper Association. He also served on the Hartsville United Way Board and the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation.
Fuller holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Berry College and an MBA from Emory University.
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of value-added, sustainable metal and fiber-based consumer and industrial packaging. The company employs approximately 22,500 people across 260 operations in 40 countries, serving many of the world’s leading brands.
Source: Sonoco
