Pulp firm chooses new CEO

Raymond A. “Pike” Peterson will assume his new duties as president and chief executive officer of Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp. in late July.

Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp. owns Eastern Fine Paper in Brewer and Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co. in Lincoln.

Joseph A. Torras, the founder and chairman of the parent corporation, recently announced Peterson’s appointment. Also, Peterson was elected to the corporation’s board of directors.

Since 1975, Peterson, 60, has held many top executive positions with Alco Standard, a California-based company with assets of more than $7.5 billion.

Recently, Peterson headed Alco’s Unisource Canadian operations based in Toronto. He served as president of Alco’s U.S. paper distribution operations. In 1981, he was president of Carpenter-Offutt Paper Co., Alco’s largest paper distributor on the West Coast.

In 1975, Peterson began his career at Kimberly-Clark and later served Nationwide Papers. He is a graduate of Lawrence College in Wisconsin and the School of Advanced Management at Stanford University.

Peterson’s grandfather, Arch Talbot, had been an employee at Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co. in the mid-1890s. His mother was Ruth Talbot, a Lincoln native. His paternal grandfather, E.A. Peterson, founded and was president of Valley iron Works in Appleton, Wis., a noted designer and manufacturer of equipment for the paper industry.

Torras, who in recent years held the presidency and CEO positions, has no plans to retire.