Veteran Timberland Executive Will Serve as COO of Rayonier Inc. Until
Its Upcoming Separation into Two Industry-Leading Companies
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2014--
Rayonier (NYSE:RYN) today announced the appointment of David L. Nunes as
chief operating officer. Upon Rayonier’s previously announced mid-year
separation, Nunes will assume the role of President and CEO of Rayonier
and Paul Boynton, Rayonier’s current Chairman, President and CEO, will
become Chairman, President and CEO of Rayonier Advanced Materials.
“Dave will provide strong leadership and direction to the new Rayonier,”
said Boynton. “With 30 years of industry experience, he will continue
Rayonier’s long legacy of growing shareholder value and provide
strategic direction to one of the best teams of timber and real estate
professionals in our industry.”
Nunes will join Rayonier Inc. on June 9 as chief operating officer and
will play a key role in finalizing the separation of the company. Upon
completion of the separation, he will assume responsibility for the
leadership of Rayonier Inc. As previously announced, Rayonier’s
Performance Fibers division will become Rayonier Advanced Materials; an
independent company initially focused on the production of high-purity
cellulose specialty products.
Nunes brings three decades of timber and real estate industry leadership
to his new role, including more than 15 years as a senior executive. He
joins Rayonier Inc. from Pope Resources (NASDAQ: POPE), where he has
served as president and CEO since 2002.
Nunes joined Pope Resources in 1997 as director of portfolio management,
working with prospective investors on developing timberland investment
portfolios. He became vice president of portfolio development, and then
served two years as senior vice president of acquisitions and portfolio
development before being named president and COO in 2000.
Appointed president and CEO in 2002, Nunes launched the company’s
private equity timber fund business, which now manages timberlands in
three funds. Pope Resources also manages development acreage in the
Seattle metropolitan area. In his tenure as CEO, Nunes has consistently
delivered value to Pope’s unitholders.
Previously, Nunes spent nine years with Weyerhaeuser Company, joining
the organization in 1988 as a business analyst and advancing through a
number of leadership roles to become director of corporate strategic
planning.
Following the separation, Richard Kincaid, director, will become
chairman of Rayonier Inc.
“In preparation for the separation, we’ve strategically aligned our
businesses to maximize their growth potential,” Kincaid said. “We’ve
added high quality timberlands in the Gulf States, divested our non-core
timberlands and increased our ownership in New Zealand. Additionally,
our Real Estate business has obtained key land use entitlements to
position our HBU portfolio for enhanced sales values. Dave’s experience
in strategic planning and growing and diversifying timberland portfolios
will play a key role in our timber and real estate strategies moving
forward. The Board is excited to work with Dave to maximize shareholder
value following the separation.”
“This is an exciting time to join Rayonier and I’m honored to accept
this opportunity,” Nunes said. “Rayonier is an industry leader with top
talent and an outstanding timberland portfolio serving U.S. and Pacific
Rim markets. Coupled with the best HBU portfolio in the industry,
Rayonier is well positioned to capitalize on the rebounding economy and
housing markets. Rayonier’s unique combination of assets and talent will
ensure that we continue the company’s long history of delivering value
to our shareholders.”
Nunes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Pomona College and an
MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.
About Rayonier:
Rayonier is a leading international forest products company with
three core businesses: Forest Resources, Real Estate and Performance
Fibers. The company owns, leases or manages 2.6 million acres of timber
and land in the United States and New Zealand. The company's holdings
include approximately 200,000 acres with residential and commercial
development potential along the Interstate 95 corridor between Savannah,
Ga., and Daytona Beach, Fla. Its Performance Fibers business is one of
the world's leading producers of high-value specialty cellulose fibers,
which are used in products such as filters, pharmaceuticals and LCD
screens. Approximately 50 percent of the company's sales are outside the
U.S. to customers in approximately 20 countries. Rayonier is structured
as a real estate investment trust. More information is available at www.rayonier.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this document regarding anticipated financial,
legal or other outcomes including business and market conditions,
outlook and other similar statements relating to Rayonier's future
events, developments or financial or operational performance or results,
are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
other federal securities laws. These forward looking statements are
identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "should,"
"expect," "estimate," "believe," "intend,” "anticipate" and other
similar language. However, the absence of these or similar words or
expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. While
management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable
when made, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance or events and undue reliance should not be placed on these
statements.
Although Rayonier believes that the expectations reflected in any
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can
give no assurance that these expectations will be attained and it is
possible that actual results may differ materially from those indicated
by these forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks and
uncertainties. Such factors include, but are not limited to:
uncertainties as to the timing of the spin-off and whether it will be
completed, the possibility that various closing conditions for the
spin-off may not be satisfied or waived, the expected tax treatment of
the spin-off, the impact of the spin-off on the businesses of Rayonier
and the Performance Fibers company, the ability of both companies to
meet debt service requirements, the availability and terms of financing
and expectations of credit rating. Other important factors are described
in the company’s most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q reports on file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission that could cause actual results or
events to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking
statements that may have been made in this document. Rayonier assumes no
obligation to update these statements except as is required by law.
Source: Rayonier
Rayonier
Investors
Ed Kiker, 904-357-9186
or
Media
Russell
Schweiss, 904-357-9158
