September 1, 2026, per a Form 8-K Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) filed with the SEC on August 18, is the date William Wagner takes the independent Board Chair seat. Mitchell Butier's tenure as non-executive Chairman runs through August 31, one day before. The unanimous board vote marks the conclusion of what the company described as its long-term board succession planning process.
Wagner has served as an independent board member since October 2022 and currently chairs both the Governance Committee and the Cybersecurity Committee. The board determined he meets independence standards under New York Stock Exchange listing rules. That finding means the company's Corporate Governance Guidelines no longer require a Lead Independent Director, a role that ends at the close of August.
Siewert's repositioning
Patrick Siewert, who holds the Lead Independent Director title through August 31, loses that designation when the chair transition takes effect. He stays on the board as an independent member for the remainder of the one-year term running to the 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
The board also appointed Siewert to replace Wagner as Governance Committee Chair, effective September 1. Siewert already serves as a member of that committee. The rationale in the filing was explicit: Wagner's new duties as independent Board Chair, combined with his continuing role as Cybersecurity Committee Chair, made the governance handoff necessary. Wagner retains Governance Committee membership for the rest of the current term and chairs it through August 31.
Butier continues as a non-independent board member through the 2027 Annual Meeting.
Avery Dennison is a Delaware corporation headquartered at 8080 Norton Parkway in Mentor, Ohio. Alongside its common stock on the NYSE, the company lists two senior note series on Nasdaq: 3.750% Senior Notes due 2034 (AVY34) and 4.000% Senior Notes due 2035 (AVY35). Deon M. Stander, President and Chief Executive Officer, signed the filing.