About Veritiv
Learn more about what drives us
Veritiv Corporation (NYSE: VRTV) is more than a leading North American business-to-business distributor of packaging, cleaning, and print and publishing products. We’re also a provider of comprehensive packaging, print, and facility solutions—including logistics and supply chain management services. Serving customers in a wide range of industries, Veritiv has approximately 160 operating distribution centers1 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and employs approximately 8,400 team members1 that help shape the success of our customers.
Established in 2014, following the merger of International Paper Company’s xpedx business and Unisource Worldwide, Veritiv is a Fortune 500® company which has earned $8.7B in net sales1.
1As of December 31, 2018. All data reflects Veritiv operations worldwide with the exception of warehouse locations and square footage which reflects our North American distribution network only.
Vision and values
We operate as one team, giving our customers a competitive edge through exceptional service, innovative people, and consistent values. We are committed to these values—they shape our culture and how we do business.
Leadership
Mary A. Laschinger
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Previously, Mary served as Senior Vice President of International Paper Company from 2007 to June 2014, and as President of the xpedx distribution business from January 2010 to June 2014.
Mary also served as President of the Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Russia business at International Paper; Vice President and General Manager of International Paper’s Wood Products and Pulp businesses, as well as in other senior management roles in sales, marketing, manufacturing, and supply chain at International Paper. Prior to joining International Paper in 1992, Mary held various positions in sales, marketing, and supply chain at James River Corporation and Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
Mary is also a member of the Board of Directors for Kellogg Company, where she chairs the Compensation & Talent Management Committee and serves on the Executive and Nominating & Governance Committees. She is a former lead Director of Ilim Group, Russia’s largest pulp and paper company
Mary is a recipient of the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire Alumni Association’s President’s Award. She was inducted into the 2018 YWCA Academy of Women Achievers, and was recognized by the University of Connecticut School of Business as a Distinguished Alumni in 2019.
Mary holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. She has also completed postgraduate studies in executive management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Stephen J. Smith
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
In this role, he is responsible for all Finance and Investor Relations functions.
Steve has been with Veritiv since March 2014. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of American Greetings Corporation, a global greeting card company, from November 2006 to March 2014. He also served as Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer of American Greetings from April 2003 to November 2006.
Prior to American Greetings, Steve served as Vice President and Treasurer of General Cable Corporation, a global wire and cable manufacturer and distributer, and Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary of Insilco Holding Company, a telecommunications and electrical component products manufacturer.
Steve is a member of the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Georgia.
Steve holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Sal Abbate
Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Sal Abbate is Chief Operating Officer for Veritiv, a Fortune 500® company and a leading North American business-to-business distribution solutions company.
In this role, he is responsible for all Packaging and Facility Solutions commercial operations including sales and commercial excellence, as well as responsibility for Developing Businesses, Veritiv Canada, and all Veritiv supply chain operations.
Sal joined Veritiv in 2018 as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Veritiv, responsible for the Enterprise Strategy, Category Management - which included marketing and sourcing, and process excellence for the commercial functions, including sales operations, sales training, sales compensation, and pricing. Additionally, Sal was responsible for developing a center of excellence for master data with the goal of standardizing and improving overall data quality to generate more meaningful analytics, insights and process improvements.
Prior to joining Veritiv, Sal served as Senior Vice President and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Andersen Windows & Doors, Inc. where he was responsible for the marketing, sales, product development, customer service, logistics and field service organizations.
Sal also served as Vice President – Global Sales and Marketing for the Performance Films Division of Solutia, Inc. which is now part of the Eastman Chemical company. He began his career with Armstrong World Industries, where he spent 15 years in all three of their business units in various roles including sales, marketing, manufacturing and process improvement. He has more than 25 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles in strategy, marketing, sales, distribution, customer service, logistics, manufacturing and process improvement.
He has an MBA from Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Dean Adelman
Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
In this role, he is responsible for the company’s HR strategies, policies and initiatives supporting all of Veritiv’s employees.
Prior to joining Veritiv in March 2019, Dean was Chief Human Resources Officer at Caraustar, an Atlanta-based manufacturer of recycled materials. Prior to that, he was Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Vice President – Human Resources for Axiall Corporation, a chemical and building products manufacturer.
Dean also held Human Resources leadership positions at Corrections Corporation of America and Arby’s Restaurant Group. He began his career as a lawyer, and spent seven years as Senior Counsel, Employment/HR for Georgia-Pacific Corporation.
Dean holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, a Juris Doctor from the University Of Georgia School Of Law, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
John Biscanti
Group Vice President Publishing and Print Management
In this role, he leads the Publishing and Print Management business for Veritiv. He is responsible for all aspects of this more than $1 billion Veritiv business.
He previously served as Regional Vice President – North Region for Veritiv, from July 2014 until being named to his current role in December 2015. He has more than 25 years of experience in the distribution industry. John began his career in 1987 as a sales trainee at a Unisource predecessor company and progressed to sales management before being promoted to a division manager, where he was responsible for several divisions.
He then joined xpedx in 1999 and served as a division manager in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. John was promoted to Group Vice President, and in 2011, joined the xpedx corporate team in Loveland as Executive Vice President for Operations and Supply Chain. He also served as Area Executive Vice President of xpedx’s Central Region prior to the merger.
John earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Alvernia University in Reading, PA.
Mark W. Hianik
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
In this role, he serves as the company's Chief Legal Officer and is responsible for Veritiv's legal, corporate security, global trade compliance, insurance and risk management functions, as well as corporate Environment Health and Safety (EHS), board governance and corporate secretarial affairs.
Previously, Mark served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for Dex One Corporation, an advertising and marketing services company, from March 2012 to May 2013. Prior to that, Mark served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Dex One (and its predecessor, R.H. Donnelley Corporation) from April 2008 to March 2012.
Mark also served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Tribune Company, a diversified media company, and as a corporate and securities partner for the Chicago law firm of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. A former practicing CPA, Mark started his professional career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen & Co.
Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned his law degree from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
Adam Noble
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
In this role, he is responsible for the company’s IT strategy and policies supporting Veritiv’s North American operations and staff.
Prior to joining Veritiv in June 2019, Adam was Senior Vice President and Global Chief Information Officer, Digital Technology at GAF Materials Corporation, a global manufacturing company. He was responsible for all global IT, as well as digital and global shared services for GAF and all affiliate companies, and he managed a team of more than 400 resources.
Prior to GAF, Adam was Vice President, Global Applications, Shared Technology Application and Services for JPMorgan Chase & Co. He has also held various leadership positions with Mars Incorporated, AlliedSignal Corporation, and United Parcel Services, Inc.
Adam holds a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University, and Master of Science in Managerial Systems Analysis from Kean University.
Tracy Pearson
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Operations
In this role, Tracy leads her team in the operation of all Veritiv distribution centers and transportation services in North America. She also oversees inventory replenishment; Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) operations; and corporate real estate.
Prior to her current role, Tracy was Senior Vice President of Packaging for Veritiv from October 2016 to February 2019.
Tracy joined Veritiv in October 2016 from International Paper, where she served as Vice President and General Manager, South Area, Container the Americas for the Industrial Packaging business. Tracy also served in various management roles at International Paper, including Vice President and General Manager, Foodservice; Vice President and General Manager of the Central Area for Container; and Market Manager for Printing Bristols for the Printing and Communication Papers business.
Tracy began her career with Akrosil, a former business of International Paper, where she held various roles in product development, process engineering, supply chain, marketing, and sales
Tracy holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Daniel J. Watkoske
Senior Vice President, Print
In this role, he is responsible for the company’s multi-billion dollar Print segment. He oversees sales, operations, and strategy for the Print business including strategic initiatives and category replenishment management within the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In addition, from October 2016 to February 2019, Dan served as Senior Vice President of Veritiv Services. This role included developing and implementing strategies to further grow the profitability in various Veritiv businesses such as, package design, kitting, equipment services, global sourcing, and Veritiv Logistics Solutions, as well as, Veritiv Mexico design business.
Previously, Dan served as Executive Vice President of Sales for xpedx and as a member of the xpedx Senior Lead Team. In this role, Dan was responsible for sales effectiveness and revenue growth for the Print, Packaging, and Facility Solutions segments. Dan has also served as Group Vice President for the xpedx Metro New York Group, and as Vice President, National Accounts for xpedx.
Dan received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Wilmington College and an MBA from the University of Michigan.