Avery Dennison Board Elects William Wagner as Independent Chair

Avery Dennison Corporation’s board of directors unanimously elected William “Bill” Wagner as independent board chair, effective 1 September 2026, the packaging and labelling materials group disclosed in a securities filing. He succeeds Mitchell Butier, who had served as non-executive chairman and continues as a non-independent board member for the remainder of the current one-year term.

Wagner has served as an independent director of Avery Dennison since October 2022 and previously chaired both the board’s governance committee and its cybersecurity committee. With Wagner confirmed as an independent chair under New York Stock Exchange listing standards, the company said a separate lead independent director is no longer required under its governance guidelines. Patrick Siewert was appointed to succeed Wagner as chair of the governance committee.

Separating the chair from company leadership

The move completes a governance structure many large US companies have adopted in recent years: separating the board chair role entirely from current or former executive leadership. Butier, who led Avery Dennison as CEO before becoming non-executive chairman, steps back from board leadership entirely under the new arrangement, while Wagner brings an outside director’s perspective to the role.

Part of a broader board refresh

The chair transition comes as Avery Dennison, a global manufacturer of adhesives, labels and packaging materials used across retail, industrial and healthcare supply chains, continues to rotate committee leadership among its newer independent directors. The company frames the change as consistent with long-term succession planning rather than a response to any particular controversy.

Why It Matters

Who chairs a public company’s board shapes how independently that board can scrutinise management, set executive pay and respond to activist pressure. A fully independent chair, with no executive ties to the company, is widely regarded by governance advisers as a stronger check on management than a chair who is also a former chief executive.