Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Siegel Elected Chairman, Executive Officer At Potlatch

Potlatch Corporation's board of directors announced the election of L. Pendleton Siegel, 56, current president and chief operating officer, to the position of chairman and chief executive officer, effective following the company's annual meeting on May 20.

Siegel succeeds John M. Richards, 61, who will retire as chairman and chief executive officer following the annual meeting. Richards will also retire from the board of directors effective June 30.

The board also announced the election of Richard L. Paulson, 57, current vice president of the company's Minnesota Pulp and Paper Division, to succeed Siegel as president and chief operating officer, also effective after the annual meeting.

"There is much reason for optimism about Potlatch, but I am especially optimistic about its future leadership," Richards noted. "Penn Siegel and Rich Paulson are an outstanding team, with a combination of experience, strategic thinking, common sense and an ability to communicate. Most important, they share an appreciation of the essential value of all our employees' contributions throughout the company."

Richards has been chairman and chief executive officer of Potlatch since 1994. An Idaho native, he has been associated with Potlatch since 1964 when the company acquired St. Maries Plywood, a company at which he was vice president and general manager.

Richards subsequently held a succession of managerial positions with Potlatch, leading to his election as president and chief operating officer in 1989. He was elected to the company's board of directors in 1991.

Throughout his career, Richards has served in numerous leadership roles in the forest products industry, including current membership on the board of directors of the American Forest and Paper Association and the board of trustees of the America Forest Foundation. Richards also contributes his time to a wide range of civic, charitable and educational organizations. His present activities include membership on the University of Idaho's President's Advisory Panel, the Gonzaga University School of Business Dean's Round Table, the Idaho Supreme Court's Advisory Council and the Idaho Community Foundation.

"John's contributions to our company will continue long after his retirement," Siegel stated. He added that under Richards' leadership, Potlatch initiated a major cultural change, led by teams of employees and directed toward making the company a low-cost producer in all of its operations and product lines.

"John sparked these team-driven initiatives to improve our business practices in purchasing, maintenance, accounting, information systems, engineering and construction," he added.

"We are already experiencing major improvements in costs and efficiency as a result of these initiatives, but we have only scratched the surface of their potential," Siegel said.

Richards also led the company through the final phases of a 15-year capital improvement program, Siegel noted. "With the program's completion in 2000, Potlatch will enter the new century with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities capable of cost-competitive performance and reduced capital requirements for an extended period," he concluded.

Siegel, who joined Potlatch in 1979 as manager of strategic planning following eight years with Drexel, Burnham, Lambert as vice president and senior analyst for forest products, was elected vice president, finance, in 1983 and subsequently held executive positions in finance, planning and the company's wood and pulp-based operations.

He was elected executive vice president, pulp-based operations and planning in 1993 and to his present position in 1994. He was elected to the board of directors in 1997.

Siegel is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a native of Richmond, Va.

A native of Minnesota, Paulson's career with Potlatch began in 1960 when he joined Northwest Paper Co., which Potlatch acquired in 1964.

He subsequently held a succession of managerial positions and was elected vice president of the Consumer Products Division in 1992. He was elected to his current position in 1996.

Potlatch is a diversified forest products company with operations and timberland in Idaho, Arkansas (including Prescott) and Minnesota.