When Lee Thomas was named chief executive officer of Rayonier Inc. in 2007, he was already thinking about possible successors.
“I indicated at that time, there were some good capable people inside of the company,” Thomas said.
Now that the 67-year-old is ready to retire, Rayonier has a new CEO ready to take his place.
The Jacksonville-based forest products company announced on Friday that Paul Boynton will succeed Thomas as CEO on Jan. 1.
Boynton, 47, has been with Rayonier since 1999 and was promoted to president and chief operating officer a year ago, putting him in line to be the next CEO.
In an interview with the two top officers Monday, Thomas and Boynton indicated the transition should be smooth.
“I would say as far as strategy is concerned, it’s a continuation,” Thomas said.
There probably aren’t any people looking for a change in strategy.
During Thomas’ 4 1/2-year tenure, Rayonier’s stock has risen 30 percent in value and, including dividends, shareholders have seen a 68 percent return, Boynton said.
“We believe he’s done an excellent job,” Boynton said. “If I’m a shareholder, I’m very pleased with Lee’s time.”
Rayonier operates three business divisions: performance fibers, timber and real estate.
The performance fibers division operates mills in Fernandina Beach and Jesup, Ga., which transform wood pulp into a wide range of consumer products, from digital display screens to food products.
The performance fibers business is by far Rayonier’s biggest division, accounting for $484 million of its $715 million in total sales in the first half of this year.
The timberland division owns or manages 2.7 million acres of land in 10 U.S. states and New Zealand.
The real estate division manages property once used for timber for sale or development.
Boynton has worked in all three divisions and brings a wide range of experience to the CEO position. He has a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Iowa, and he also graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration Advanced Management Program.
Boynton joined Rayonier in 1999 from the 3M Corp., where he had been global brand manager for its home care division.
He became senior vice president of Rayonier’s performance fibers division in 2002 and when Thomas came in as CEO, he identified Boynton as a possible successor.
“We saw his leadership potential,” Thomas said.
To give him experience in Rayonier’s other businesses, Boynton was named executive vice president of forest resources and real estate in November 2009, and he held that job until he was named president.
“He’s performed extremely well in all those jobs,” Thomas said.
Thomas said that implementing a succession plan was one of his major accomplishments during his time as CEO.
“We’ve got a pretty strong succession planning process in the company for all of our senior level positions,” he said.
He’s also thinks Rayonier is headed in a good direction.
“We developed a good long-term strategy and implemented it. That added value for our shareholders and our employees,” he said.
Thomas also is happy with some internal accomplishments that are not necessarily visible to the shareholders.
“We’ve really improved our safety performance,” he said.
Thomas will stay on as chairman of the board until May, at which time Boynton will take on the role of chairman in addition to his duties as president and CEO.
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