INTERNATIONAL PAPER  2014 ANNUAL REPORT 03 ABOUT MARK S. SUTTON MARK S. SUTTON CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER  INTERNATIONAL PAPER Mark Sutton became chairman of the board  of directors of International Paper on January  1, 2015, and CEO on November 1, 2014. Prior  to becoming CEO, he served as president  and chief operating officer (COO) responsible  for leading the company’s global businesses.  Sutton joined the company in 1984 in  Pineville, La., after earning his Bachelor of  Science degree in electrical engineering from  Louisiana State University. In 1995, he was  named mill manager at the Thilmany, Wis.,  mill before relocating to Europe in 2000, to  serve as director of European corrugated  packaging operations. He was subsequently  promoted in 2002, as vice president and   general manager for all corrugated packaging  operations across seven countries in Europe,  the Middle East and Africa. In 2005, he was  named vice president of corporate strategic  planning and relocated to Memphis, Tenn. He  became senior vice president, global supply  chain, in 2007 and in 2009, was named senior  vice president, printing and communications  papers & Latin America. Sutton was appointed  to senior vice president, industrial packaging,  the company’s largest business in 2011, prior  to being named president and COO. 