Former PPC Board Chair, Brian Hunt, President of Southern Champion Tray, passes the ceremonial gavel to new Board Chair, Laura Brodie, President of Burt Rigid Box at PPC’s recent Fall Meeting & Leadership Conference in Austin, TX.

During the induction ceremony at PPC’s recent Fall Meeting in Austin, TX, Brodie laid out her strategic direction for the association for 2023 and beyond.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., The Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) is pleased to welcome the new Chair of its Board of Directors, Laura Brodie, President of Burt Rigid Box. With 14 years of experience in the paperboard packaging industry, she’s served on PPC’s Board of Directors since 2011 and is an owner and senior manager at Burt, a recognized industry leader in luxury rigid box packaging. Brodie brings deep industry experience to help her lead the North American association for paperboard packaging manufacturers over the next two years. 

During the induction ceremony at PPC’s recent Fall Meeting, Brodie laid out her strategic direction for the association for 2023 and beyond.

“Providing growth and development opportunities for new and upcoming leaders in our member organizations via PPC is a top priority,” Brodie said. “Driven by demographics and exacerbated by the pandemic, many industries including manufacturing face a talent shortage in the decade to come. It’s more important than ever to focus on growing and retaining our teams, and PPC is ideally positioned to provide unique programming to grow the networks, skill sets, and passion for packaging of young leaders across our industry.” To this end, PPC currently provide members with training opportunities through its biannual Folding Carton Boot Camp events, which are ideal for anyone new to paperboard packaging. Not only does Boot Camp provide a comprehensive education on folding carton points and processes, but it also brings professionals together both in-person and virtually to connect, network, and collaborate. 

Second, Brodie seeks to capitalize on PPC’s dynamic communities of interest and committees by connecting them more explicitly with the Executive Committee and Board to drive the association’s vision and value. “By creating more opportunities for our executive committee and internal communities to come together and strategize about our future, we will ensure that the association’s offerings directly reflect members’ freshest, most cutting-edge ideas, while benefitting from these groups’ passion for PPC,” said Brodie. In recent years, PPC has proven successful in offering vibrant communities of interest that include Women in Leadership, New Generation Leaders, Rigid Box Manufacturers, Design & Innovation, and University Students & Teachers. For Brodie, it’s time to leverage these communities in a more expansive way to not only engage all PPC members, but to also impact the industry at large.

Ultimately, Brodie aims to sustain and develop a more robust member base that feels appreciated and valued. “It’s inspiring to see the profound impact our engaged members have on the vibrancy of PPC. They are willing to put in the time and contribute – and it’s imperative that we acknowledge and implement ideas from the people that are here at our events and are engaged with every aspect of our association.” 

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to nourish and contribute to a community I’ve found invaluable from the moment I joined, and that’s played an important role in my own development as a packaging executive,” Brodie said. “PPC is crucial not only for sharing technical knowledge and best practices, but also for networking and connecting members from different backgrounds and generations.” 

A longtime resident of New York City currently residing in Oneonta, NY, Laura has held multiple leadership positions within her Manhattan and upstate New York communities. Originally from Buffalo, NY, she serves as the Board Chair of Starring Buffalo, Inc., a non-profit theater production company she co-founded in 2017. A graduate of Princeton University, she is also a past member of the Graduate Board of Directors for the Princeton Tower Club. 

Learn more about PPC, its programming, and its upcoming Spring Outlook & Strategies Conference in Nashville, TN by visiting www.paperbox.org.