HARTSVILLE, S.C., Feb. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, today announced Allan McLeland, vice president of Human Resources, has announced his plans to retire after 25 years with the Company, effective April 1, 2019.

Sonoco also announced the appointment of John M. Florence Jr. as vice president of Human Resources, general counsel and secretary, effective following McLeland’s retirement.

Florence, 40, joined Sonoco in 2015 and currently serves as vice president, general counsel and secretary. When assuming his new duties, Florence will be responsible for Sonoco’s global Human Resources programs covering the Company’s 23,000 employees, including recruitment, staffing, employee relations, organizational development, compensation, benefits, HRIS and payroll, along with his current duties leading the Company’s legal, intellectual property and corporate secretary functions.

Prior to joining Sonoco, Florence was a lawyer with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA, a South Carolina law firm, for more than 10 years. He received a B.A. degree from Presbyterian College, an MBA from the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business and a J.D. from Samford University. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar Association and the Richland County, S.C., Bar Association. He is a member of the 2019 class of the Liberty Fellowship.

“Over Allan’s 25-year career, he has helped build a best-in-class Human Resources program focused on meeting the needs of our growing global businesses. I thank him for his service and commitment and wish him well in the future,” said Sonoco President and CEO Rob Tiede. “I’m also excited as John moves into an expanded leadership role. He is one of our brightest young executives and brings a wealth of employee relations and employment law experience to continue improving our Human Resources offerings.”

McLeland joined Sonoco’s Human Resources function in 1993 and held several business leadership roles, each with progressively more responsibility, in the areas of organizational development, employee relations and staffing, before becoming vice president of Human Resources in 2011. He holds both a B.A. in Psychology and an MBA in Human Resources Management from the University of South Carolina.

About Sonoco Founded in 1899, Sonoco (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $5.4 billion, the Company has 23,000 employees working in approximately 300 operations in 36 countries, serving some of the world’s best-known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is committed to creating sustainable products, services and programs for our customers, employees and communities that support our corporate purpose of Better Packaging. Better Life . The Company ranked first in the Packaging sector on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for 2019. For more information, visit www.sonoco.com .

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Contact: Roger Schrum +843-339-6018