STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 28 -- International Paper Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Faraci today announced that Thomas Jorling will retire as vice president of environmental affairs, effective April 30, 2004. "Tom's leadership and innovation over the last 10 years have contributed greatly to our environmental performance," said Faraci. "With Tom leading our environmental stewardship programs, we have achieved outstanding success and have gained a world-class health and safety record. All of us at IP are proud of Tom's contributions to our environmental, health and safety program, and we wish him the best in his retirement." Upon Jorling's retirement, David B. Struhs will join International Paper as vice president of environmental affairs. Struhs, 43, has served Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection since 1999, after having served Govs. William F. Weld and Paul Cellucci of Massachusetts in a similar capacity. Struhs will have leadership responsibility for the company's environmental, health and safety programs. "David has a 20-year career as an environmental champion in both the public and private sectors," said Faraci. "His work with environmentalists and business as a state secretary of environmental protection, coupled with his experience in private business and in the White House and Environmental Protection Agency, make him an excellent choice to lead IP's environmental affairs. We are confident that David will continue to build upon the outstanding environmental performance record International Paper has earned under Tom Jorling's leadership." While in Florida, Struhs' department achieved the largest reductions of air pollution in the state's history and partnered with landowners to preserve nearly a million acres of the state's most sensitive landscapes. Struhs was also formerly vice president of strategic consulting firm The Canyon Group Inc. and served under former President George Bush as chief of staff for the President's Council on Environmental Quality and on the senior management team at the EPA's New England regional office in Boston. He holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He was a Fulbright Fellow and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science from Indiana University. Struhs will be located at the company's operational headquarters in Memphis, Tenn.