EY CFO Outlook: Mergers and transformation, with Ken Bowles, Smurfit Kappa

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Next year, Ken Bowles will celebrate 30 years with the Smurfit Kappa Group. He started with the paper and packaging firm in June 1994 – the Monday after Ray Houghton had scored that famous goal against Italy in the World Cup in the Giant’s Stadium in New York.

Over the last three decades, the company has grown and evolved to become one of the world’s leading players in the sector. The announcement of a merger with U.S. firm WestRock looks set to see them expand even further. For Bowles, who describes Smurfit Kappa as ‘a small family of 47,000 people’ it’s an exciting time with that headcount expected to double when the merger closes next year.

In this episode of the EY CFO Podcast, Ken Bowles chats about his career journey from his first role as an Assistant Controller for Abrakebabra to his longstanding working relationship with Tony Smurfit. He discusses how sustainability is central to Smurfit Kappa– recycling 7 million tonnes of post-consumer waste so now the same box is reused 25 times – and why he feels companies have a responsibility to drive inclusivity by looking beyond postcodes and universities to source talent.

For your convenience, a full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.