William Norman
BERYAbout William J. Norman
William J. Norman, age 53, is President, Consumer Packaging — North America at Berry Global, a role he has held since July 2019. He joined Berry in 1993 and progressed through accounting, finance, and commercial strategy roles; prior roles include EVP Consumer Packaging Commercial Operations, EVP & GM Consumer Packaging Food, and President — Rigid Open Top Division. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Southern Indiana . Company pay-for-performance frameworks tie incentives to Adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions; in FY2024 the Company achieved 100% of EBITDA target, 107% of free cash flow target, and 200% of GHG reduction target, driving a 117% STI payout for Named Executive Officers (NEOs) . Recent PSU cycles paid above target driven by relative TSR in the 64th percentile and average ROCE of 14.1% for the 2022–2024 period (cash payout 134% of target) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Global | President, Consumer Packaging — North America | Jul 2019–present | Leads CP-North America P&L; commercial and operational execution |
| Berry Global | EVP — Consumer Packaging Commercial Operations | Feb 2019–Jul 2019 | Commercial leadership across CP portfolio |
| Berry Global | EVP & GM — Consumer Packaging Food | Nov 2015–Feb 2019 | Growth, customer and category leadership in Food packaging |
| Berry Global | President — Rigid Open Top Division | Oct 2013–Nov 2015 | Division leadership, operations and margin execution |
| Berry Global | Various managerial/VP roles (Accounting, Finance, Commercial & Strategic Planning) | 1993–2013 | Built cross-functional expertise across finance and commercial strategy |
| Berry Global | Appointment to CP-North America President | Effective Jul 1, 2019 | Elevation to divisional president coincident with RPC acquisition close |
External Roles
No external directorships or public company board roles are disclosed for William J. Norman .
Fixed Compensation
Not individually disclosed for William J. Norman; Berry’s executive compensation structure includes:
- Base salary and an annual cash Short-Term Incentive (STI) plan for executive officers .
- STI metrics and weightings: Adjusted EBITDA (70%), free cash flow (20%), GHG emissions reduction (10%) .
- FY2024 company performance and NEO payout: EBITDA 100% of target; free cash flow 107%; GHG 200%; total STI 117% of target for NEOs (CEO at 125% target, other NEOs at 80% target) .
| STI Component | Weight | FY2024 Achievement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EBITDA | 70% | 100% | Company-defined Operating EBITDA basis |
| Free Cash Flow | 20% | 107% | Operating cash flow less net capex |
| GHG Emissions Reduction | 10% | 200% | Sustainability target audited |
Performance Compensation
Berry’s long-term incentive (LTI) mix for executive officers (including divisional presidents) consists of stock options (40%) and cash-settled Performance-based Restricted Stock Units (PSUs) (60%) .
| Metric | Weight | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Payout Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative TSR vs peer group | 50% | 25th percentile | 50th percentile | 75th percentile | 0% / 50% / 100% / 200% (straight-line between points) |
| ROCE | 50% | 13% | 14% | 15% | 0% / 50% / 100% / 200% (straight-line between points) |
Vesting and acceleration terms:
- Options vest 25% annually over 4 years; 10-year term; accelerated on death/disability; retirement continuation rules .
- PSUs vest at end of the 3-year performance period; service condition pro-rata if involuntary termination without cause; accelerated service condition on death/disability/qualified retirement .
- Change-in-control: double-trigger protections — full vesting if terminated without cause or for good reason within 2 years; additional 40% service/vesting relief for terminations more than 2 years after a change in control .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Share ownership guidelines: management is required to hold a meaningful financial interest; CEO 5× salary; other Named Executive Officers 3× salary. While Norman’s specific guideline multiple and status aren’t disclosed, guidelines apply broadly to Company management .
- Anti-hedging/pledging policy: Berry prohibits directors, executive officers, and key employees from engaging in hedging or pledging of Berry stock .
- Equity award vesting policies noted above align executives to ROCE and TSR outcomes .
- Beneficial ownership for Norman is not itemized in the proxy’s individual table (it covers directors and NEOs); group totals are disclosed .
Employment Terms
- No individual employment agreement terms or severance/change-in-control cash multiples are disclosed for William J. Norman in the proxy. Company-wide LTI instruments include double-trigger protections and PSU/option vesting relief as noted above .
- Comparable divisional executives (e.g., Begle, Greene, Miles) have severance arrangements and enhanced change-in-control severance per agreements; Norman’s specific terms are not disclosed .
Investment Implications
- Incentive alignment: Norman’s variable pay is leveraged to EBITDA, free cash flow, ROCE, and relative TSR — metrics that directly influence Berry’s cash generation and capital efficiency. FY2024 over-target FCF and GHG performance yielded above-target STI for NEOs (117%), indicating a strong internal emphasis on cash and sustainability outcomes .
- Long-term focus and retention: 3-year PSUs tied to ROCE and TSR, plus 4-year option vesting, encourage sustained execution in CP-North America; double-trigger vesting mitigates change-of-control windfalls and supports retention through integrations or portfolio actions .
- Governance and risk controls: ownership guidelines, anti-hedging/pledging policy, and a clawback policy compliant with NYSE 10D standards reduce misalignment and sales pressure risk tied to personal financing activities; no option repricing permitted .
- Pay practices stability: Berry’s comp peer group centered on packaging and specialty materials and robust say-on-pay support (≈95% approval in 2024; 96% in 2023) suggest investor acceptance of pay design where divisional leaders’ incentives track core value drivers .
Notes and disclosures:
- Where itemized values (salary, individual grants, ownership) are not disclosed for William J. Norman, they are omitted per proxy reporting scope. STI and LTI structures, metrics, and vesting terms are Company policy for executive officers and are cited accordingly .