Mark Sutton

His most consequential strategic decision has been the company's transformation from a diversified paper producer into a corrugated packaging-focused business — reflecting the structural shift from printing papers (in secular decline due to digital media) to corrugated boxes (growing structurally due to e-commerce). Under Sutton's leadership, International Paper divested its printing papers business and invested in corrugated packaging capacity, building one of the largest containerboard and box systems in the world. The company's corrugated business benefits from structural e-commerce growth — every online purchase requires cardboard packaging — and from sustainability trends as corrugated is the most widely recycled packaging material. Sutton also pursued the transformative merger with DS Smith, a European packaging leader, to create a transatlantic corrugated packaging champion. Sutton's execution on the DS Smith integration, containerboard pricing dynamics, and capital allocation between growth investment and shareholder returns are the primary drivers of International Paper's stock price. The secular growth of e-commerce and sustainable packaging adoption provides structural tailwinds, while containerboard pricing cycles create short-term earnings volatility.