PASADENA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2011—
Avery Dennison Corporation announced the death of Charles D. Miller, who as chairman and chief executive officer from 1977 to 1998, was instrumental in transforming the company from a U.S.-based manufacturer into a global Fortune 500 market leader in pressure-sensitive labeling materials and office products. Miller, 83, died at his home in Pasadena on Nov. 23 due to complications from emphysema.
“Chuck Miller’s impact on Avery Dennison was immeasurable,” said Dean A. Scarborough, Avery Dennison chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Every aspect of our business, from vision to strategy to execution to culture, has been shaped for the better by his passion and imagination. Numerous organizations in Southern California benefited from his tireless and wide-ranging philanthropic leadership over the past four decades. I will miss him as a leader, a mentor and a friend.”
Miller began his 47-year association with Avery Dennison in 1964 when he joined the Avery Products Corporation, the precursor of Avery Dennison. Over the next 10 years, he held a series of operating and executive roles in the U.S. and Europe and was named president and chief operating officer in 1976. In 1977, he was elected chief executive officer, and, in 1983, chairman of the board. He served as CEO for 21 years, as chairman of the board for 17 years, and as a member of the board of directors for over 30 years. He continued to serve the company as a director emeritus until his death.
Under Miller’s leadership, Avery Dennison grew dramatically, with annual net sales increasing during his tenure as CEO from $423 million to $3.3 billion in 1998. Investing in research and development to introduce innovative products, the company established itself as the global leader in pressure-sensitive materials and finished labels. Miller also led the company into other lines of business, the most prominent of which was office products. Through a series of acquisitions culminating with the 1990 merger with Dennison Manufacturing Company, Miller established the Avery brand and the company as a global office products leader as well.
Recognizing the company’s large opportunities outside the United States—among his earliest actions as CEO was renaming the company Avery International—Miller led a vigorous global expansion effort. Throughout his tenure as CEO, he expanded operations and sales in Europe, South America and Asia. His most prescient actions led to the creation of the pressure-sensitive labeling industry in China. He established the company’s first manufacturing operations there in 1994 and, to ensure growth in the use of pressure-sensitive materials, he founded the Avery Dennison Label Converting College near Shanghai to train local commercial printers in their use.
