Heading For a Downturn?, Paper360º January/February 2020

Cloudy skies, literally and figuratively, greeted delegates at Fastmarkets RISI’s annual North American forest products conference held in Boston last October.

Following the official presentation of the company’s North American CEO of the Year Award, winner Brad Southern of LP Building Solutions joined fellow CEOs John Williams (Domtar), Luigi Lazzareschi (Sofidel), and Craig Gunckel (Iconex) on the CEO panel, which addressed myriad issues, mostly dealing with economic and political uncertainty.

In response to a question from moderator George Staphos (Bank of America Merrill Lynch), who asked how customers are managing given this era of uncertainty and political volatility, the always-erudite Williams said agility is the key. He brought up heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson’s adage: “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” And the risk of being punched in the mouth is greater than it used to be, Williams added. “You need to keep a careful eye on the horizon. And productivity levels need to be kept high.”

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