Sealed Air shows another CEO the door, promotes its CFO

Packaging company Sealed Air Corp., which now faces the market as SEE, is cycling through another CEO as the latest leader to leave lasted less than eight months on the job.

And his successor is one of the men he replaced in the corner office.

Patrick Kivits resigned effective immediately from the Charlotte, N.C.-based packaging company, the company announced after the stock markets closed Feb. 14.

He was replaced by Dustin Semach, the chief financial officer for Sealed Air who previously served as interim co-CEO from October 2023 to July 2024 along with Emile Chammas as the company looked for a permanent leader. The co-CEOs were installed after former CEO Ted Doheny's abrupt departure as CEO in late 2023.

With the hiring of Kivits, Semach returned to the CFO role he held since April 2023. He also had been president of the company.

Sealed Air has a heavy position in plastic packaging with the well-known Cryovac brand of food packaging and Bubble Wrap brand of protective packaging. The company also owns Liquibox, which makes flexible plastic packaging for liquids that are then contained in paper boxes. Sealed Air's Autobag business, meanwhile, makes high-speed bagging and printing machinery.

Sealed Air has been on what has now become a years-long effort to turn around the publicly traded company that has been troubled by debt and cost issues.

"Our focus has been on rebuilding the foundation by re-aligning our businesses on a market basis, revitalizing our commercial approach and right sizing our cost structure. As we enter the next phase of our transformation, our success requires a leader with a deep understanding of our businesses and a strong sense of urgency," Chairman Henry Keizer said in a statement.

"Dustin has proven that he is the best leader to take the business forward with his relentless focus on execution, customer-centric approach, ability to build a high-performing culture, and strong financial and operational skills," he continued.