PASADENA, Calif. - Avery Dennison Corporation today announced that its board of directors has appointed Martha N. Sullivan a director, effective February 27, 2013.

Sullivan, 56, is the president and chief executive officer of Sensata Technologies Holding N.V., one of the world's leading suppliers of sensing, electrical protection, control and power management solutions.

"Martha’s experience with sensors and control systems and the many ways they can be used to improve lives will be invaluable to Avery Dennison as we advance the use of RFID and other information technologies," said Dean A. Scarborough, Avery Dennison chairman, president and chief executive officer.

An engineer by training with nearly 30 years of experience, Ms. Sullivan joined Sensata's predecessor company, Texas Instruments Inc., in 1984 and rose through management positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of sensor products, to become chief operating officer of Sensata in 2006. She was named president in 2010, and became chief executive officer in January 2013.

Sullivan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University, which awarded her an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy in 2012. She has served on the President's Alumni Council of the university as well as the Key Executive Council of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the International Supplier Advisory Council of Ford Motor Company.