US packaging manufacturer Sonoco has named Ernest D. Haynes III as its next president and chief executive officer, succeeding Howard Coker when he retires at the end of 2026.
The company announced the succession on Monday, 9 November. Coker, who has led Sonoco as CEO since 2020, will retire on 31 December after a 41-year career at the business. Haynes, currently president of Global Consumer Packaging, is due to take over at the turn of the year and join the board.
The appointment places an executive with direct experience in food cans and rigid paper packaging at the head of one of the world’s major packaging suppliers. Sonoco serves food and beverage manufacturers alongside industrial customers.
Who is Sonoco’s new CEO? Ernest Haynes joined Sonoco in 1997 and has held senior manufacturing, commercial and operational roles across both its consumer and industrial packaging divisions.
He became president of Global Consumer Packaging in August 2026. Before that, he led Consumer Packaging Americas and Sonoco’s metal packaging operations. His career also includes responsibility for rigid paper containers and North American tubes and cores.
Haynes has been involved in integrating Sonoco’s major packaging acquisitions, including its metal packaging expansion. He holds an industrial engineering degree from Clemson University and completed Wharton School’s executive general management programme.
When does Ernest Haynes become CEO? Sonoco’s public announcement says Howard Coker remains chief executive through 31 December 2026, with Haynes taking the role as the leadership transition is completed. The company’s leadership material identifies 1 January 2027 as Haynes’s effective date.
| Leadership detail | Confirmed position |
|---|---|
| Incoming CEO | Ernest D. Haynes III |
| Current role | President, Global Consumer Packaging |
| Joined Sonoco | 1997 |
| Outgoing CEO | R. Howard Coker |
| Coker’s retirement | 31 December 2026 |
| CEO handover | Beginning of January 2027 |
| Announcement | 9 November 2026 |
Sonoco chairman John R. Haley said the company had planned the succession carefully. He pointed to Haynes’s experience in consumer and industrial packaging and in integrating large acquisitions as important qualifications for the role.
Coker described Sonoco as the company he had known throughout his career. He thanked its workforce and said the time was right for an orderly handover.
Haynes said he intended to focus on sustainable growth, improving profitability and disciplined allocation of capital. He also emphasised delivering packaging solutions to customers.
Why does the appointment matter to food-packaging buyers? Sonoco supplies packaging used across food production, including steel food cans and rigid paper containers. These products are important in ambient grocery categories where shelf life, product protection, sealing performance and transport reliability affect procurement decisions.
Haynes’s recent leadership of consumer packaging therefore connects directly to the part of Sonoco’s business serving many FMCG companies. It does not mean the company has announced new product lines, higher prices, plant closures or changes to existing customer contracts.
Packaging suppliers are under pressure to deliver cost control, operational reliability and improved material performance. Retailers and manufacturers must also evaluate recyclability, pack functionality and compatibility with filling equipment.
Sonoco’s global scale makes changes in strategy relevant beyond the United States. Headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina, the group has approximately 22,000 employees worldwide and operates consumer and industrial packaging businesses across multiple countries.
The transition follows a period of portfolio restructuring and acquisitions under Coker. It also builds on the company’s efforts to focus operations on scaled consumer and industrial packaging platforms.
Sonoco’s earlier quarterly packaging results showed how sales volumes, pricing and portfolio changes can affect the balance between revenue and profitability. Buyers should distinguish those reported results from any future targets set by the incoming CEO.
The group is among the major US packaging manufacturers whose material choices and production capacity matter to international FMCG supply chains.
What happens next? Coker and Haynes are expected to participate in Sonoco’s presentation at the R.W. Baird Global Industrial Conference in Chicago on 10 November 2026, alongside chief financial officer Paul Joachimczyk.
The session may provide further detail about Sonoco’s strategy, but any new priorities or financial targets will need to be confirmed when announced. The CEO transition is scheduled for the end of December.
Editor’s Note: Based on Sonoco’s 9 November 2026 corporate announcement and accompanying US securities filing. The article focuses on packaging-sector implications and does not infer unannounced price, production or supply-contract changes.
