Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> February 10, 2003
JOHN F. MEIER is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Libbey Inc., the largest manufacturer and marketer of glass
tableware in the Western Hemisphere. Libbey is a public company
with sales of $ 420 million in 2001. It has four manufacturing
facilities in the USA and two factories in Mexico, as a part of
its joint venture, Vitrocrisa. In addition, the company recently
acquired Traex, a foodservice plastics provider, and Royal
Leerdam of the Netherlands, a leading European glass company. Mr.
Meier joined the company in 1970, with his early career
assignments being in the field of marketing and sales management.
He assumed leadership of the company in 1990. In 1993 Libbey
executed an IPO, and he was named to his current duties. His
international experience covers a broad spectrum. From 1974
through 1979 he served in Belgium as the marketing and sales
manager of a foreign subsidiary of the company. Since then he has
been involved in a number of international initiatives including
the acquisition and divestiture of Libbey Canada, as well as the
creation of Libbey's joint venture in Mexico, Vitrocrisa, which
is the largest glass company in all of Latin America.
Additionally his acquisition and divestiture experience includes
work involving businesses in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China,
Colombia, England and Japan. He has served on the Boards of
Directors of businesses in Belgium, Canada, Japan and now Mexico.
He has had extensive interaction in Washington concerning NAFTA,
WTO and GSP proceedings during his career, as well as varied
experiences with regulatory agencies including the FDA and the
FTC. In addition to his duties as Chairman and CEO of Libbey
Inc., he serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Cooper
Tire and Rubber Co. and also is on the Board of his alma mater,
Wittenberg University. Mr. Meier is a 1969 graduate of Wittenberg
University and holds an MBA from Bowling Green State University.
During the 1980s he also served as an Adjunct Professor in the
College of Business at both Bowling Green State University and
the University of Toledo. Profile
Mr. Meier: Libbey is the largest supplier of machine-made
glassware in the Western hemisphere ' all of North and South
America.
