Award Winners Star at ASPI Spring Meeting
Each spring, ASPI brings together leaders from a wide range of pulp, paper, and packaging industry suppliers to further their knowledge about how best to serve industry customers. This year is no exception. The 2025 ASPI Spring Meeting will be held February 19-21, 2025, at The Sand Pearl Resort in Clearwater, FL.
The meeting will convene with a casual welcome reception for all attendees on Wednesday evening, immediately followed by dinner. Thursday kicks off with a continental breakfast. The morning program will include presentation of the ASPI Customer Executive of the Year award. The afternoon will include a feature new for attendees: the TAPPI PIMA Executive Summit. The day concludes with a networking reception and dinner Thursday evening.
Friday will begin with a continental breakfast followed by morning presentations. Highlights will include presentation of the ASPI Excellence in Leadership Award, plus leadership insights from Mike Farrell, executive vice president, Graphic Packaging International; and Matt Szymanski, vice president, mill operations, Green Bay Packaging. The meeting adjourns prior to lunch.
MEET THE 2025 AWARD RECIPIENTS
ASPI awards not only provide recognition for the recipient, they also promote ASPI’s mission of supporting industry performance. The awardees chosen for 2025 represent the leadership skills, innovation, and creativity that will help the pulp and paper industry thrive.
The highest honor that ASPI can bestow on an individual, ASPI’s Customer Executive of the Year Award, is presented annually to a customer executive who has worked diligently within his or her company and with the company’s suppliers to dramatically increase the benefits the company derives from its supplied goods and services. For 2025, the recipient is Arsen Kitch, president, CEO, and director, Clearwater Paper.
Arsen Kitch, Clearwater Paper, has been named ASPI’s Customer Executive of the Year.
Kitch joined Clearwater in 2013 as senior director of strategy and planning and was elected president and CEO in 2020. He grew his leadership skills and experience at Clearwater and had served as senior vice president and general manager of the consumer products division since 2018. Before joining Clearwater Paper, Kitch held positions at Nestlé USA, KKR Capstone, and Frito-Lay. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Having navigated the successful sale of Clearwater’s tissue business to Sofidel America Corp., Kitch is optimistic about the company’s long-term value creation. The deal substantially reduces the company’s debt. “This is the next big step in transforming Clearwater into a premier independent paperboard packaging supplier in North America,” Kitch says.
To receive the ASPI Excellence in Leadership Award, the committee has selected Bill Edwards, senior vice president of pulp, paper, and packaging operations, Domtar. The award recognizes leadership in capital projects, mill transformation, grade changes, mill restructuring, and/or human resource management.
Bill Edwards, Domtar, will accept the ASPI Excellence in Leadership Award.
James (Bill) Edwards has been with Domtar since 1996 and is a member of Domtar’s management committee. He is responsible for all pulp, paper, and packaging manufacturing and converting, as well as optimization efforts at each of Domtar’s facilities. His organization is also responsible for Domtar’s safety, environmental, quality, continuous improvement, engineering, and innovation teams. Previously, he served as vice president of paper manufacturing.
Edwards received his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. He currently serves on the TAPPI board of directors; the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement’s board of governors; and on the board of trustees for Western Michigan University’s Paper Technology Foundation. He is a member of TAPPI’s Couch Pit Pulp & Paper Society and received the Ray H. Cross award for his contribution to community service.
THE ASPI DIFFERENCE
Since 1933, ASPI has provided a forum to connect industry leaders. ASPI members and their customers gain unique knowledge and networking opportunities, all focused on providing industry suppliers with the knowledge they need to serve their customers. ASPI strives to provide unparalleled customer engagement to its members, with strict compliance to ASPI’s antitrust policy.
Experience the ASPI difference for yourself! Join us in Clearwater, FL, to build your relationships with your customers and other supplier industry executives. If you would like additional information on ASPI or ASPI meetings, please contact ASPI staff at [email protected].
