Appvion Names Paul Charapata as Chief Executive Officer

Dec. 5, 2022 - Appvion, a Wynnchurch Capital portfolio company, announced today that Paul Charapata, former President and CEO of recently acquired Nekoosa Coated Products, has been named CEO of the Appvion platform. The current CEO, Laurie Andriate, will transition to the Board of Directors.

With more than 25 years of industry experience, Charapata brings a wealth of knowledge to Appvion. He started his career at Avery Dennison, leading engineering, operations and several growth businesses. Charapata later entered the private equity arena, joining Dunsirn Partners, and then transitioned into the CEO role for the portfolio company, Nekoosa.

Leading Nekoosa with the support of dedicated team members, Charapata successfully transformed the business by completing nine acquisitions with three different private equity partners.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to lead this great business and dedicated team," said Charapata. "I have had the privilege of leading Nekoosa for over 15 years and believe there is an amazing opportunity for the combined company to expand its market presence and deliver increasing value to our customers. I look forward to building on the strong Appvion and Nekoosa legacies and driving new successes in partnership with our strong team."

Greg Gleason, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch, said, "We are excited to have Paul lead Appvion with his strong track record of driving strategic growth with an outstanding team and culture. We are also appreciative of Laurie's success positioning Appvion as a commercial leader in the specialty material sector that is well positioned for its next chapter of growth. We look forward to working with Laurie on the board as a valuable resource to the Company."

Based in Appleton, Wisconsin, Appvion is a pioneer in the specialty and high-performance coatings market. Appvion’s coating solutions are applied to a wide variety of flexible substrates, including products from an FDA-compliant facility. Primary product offerings include direct thermal labels and film solutions and renewable, fiber-based consumer and industrial packaging solutions.

SOURCE: Wynnchurch Capital, L.P