Merger marks end of dynasty at MeadWestvaco, a big Chaleston employer since ... - Charleston Post Courier
Under a merger announced Monday, an heir of the Luke legacy won’t, for the first time ever, be calling the shots at what is now MeadWestvaco Corp. , who’s been the CEO of the packaging giant for more than two decades, will take the title of nonexecutive chairman once the proposed marriage with the larger Rock-Tenn Co. is finalized, probably later this year. “The combination makes tremendous sense for a variety of compelling reasons,” Luke said during a conference call Monday. However it shakes out, the sale marks the end of one era — a long one, at that — and the start of another. The Luke family’s ties to the company date back to the beginning, in the late 1880s, when William Luke started Piedmont Pulp & Paper Co. The business was incorporated in 1899 as West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. , which became Westvaco Corp. , a future CEO, cut his teeth at the Cooper River site from 1949-55. His namesake and successor was about a year old when the family moved to a home on Johnson Road in the Crescent neighborhood off Folly Road. The younger Luke, an Air Force officer during Vietnam, joined the business in 1979 and took the reins from his father in 1992. The New York Times took note of the promotion: “Luke Family’s Reign Is Extended at Westvaco,” the headline read. Source: www.postandcourier.com
