RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, has named Mr. James Rubright, Chairman and CEO of RockTenn, as the 2011 North American Forest Products CEO of the Year. The award will be presented to Mr. Rubright at RISI's 26th North American Forest Products Conference in San Diego, CA on October 3-5, 2011.

Mr. Rubright was chosen as the RISI North American CEO of the Year by a group of investment analysts and portfolio managers covering the forest products industry. The analysts responded to a survey organized by RISI and the criteria for nomination included leadership, vision and strategic accomplishment. Mr. Rubright was selected as the winner due to his significant achievements and overall leadership of RockTenn. Specifically noted in his nomination was the recent acquisition of Smurfit-Stone by RockTenn. Both competitors and independent converters have responded positively to the recent acquisition which has brought RockTenn to a new level in the industry as one of the most respected and profitable integrated paperboard and packaging companies in North America. Responding to the announcement Mr. Rubright commented, “This award recognizes the success and global competitiveness RockTenn has accomplished through the hard work and innovative solutions of our 26,000 dedicated employees.”

Mr. Rubright is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RockTenn, one of North America's leading manufacturers of corrugated and consumer packaging and recycling solutions. Before joining RockTenn as CEO in 1999, he served as Executive Vice President of Sonat, Inc., a diversified energy company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. At Sonat, he was the head of Sonat's interstate natural gas pipeline and energy services businesses. Prior to 1994, he was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding.

Mr. Rubright served in 2007 as Chairman of the board of the American Forest & Paper Association, the national trade association of the forest, pulp, paper, paperboard and wood products industry. He is a director of AGL Resources, Inc., an energy company, and Forestar Group, Inc., a real estate and natural resources company. He received a B.A. degree from Yale College and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School.

Mr. Rubright was also named RISI’s North American CEO of the Year in 2008 and he won the Global CEO of the Year Award at the PPI Awards in 2009.

In addition to collecting his award in at the RISI North American Conference, Mr. Rubright will join the CEO panel and present the keynote speech. Mr. Rubright will join a host of industry leading speakers at the event, including representatives from the AF&PA, Weyerhaeuser, Biomass Power Association, North American Wholesale Lumber Association, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Bank of American/Merrill Lynch, CIBC, Boise,
Futuremark and Clearwater Paper. RISI’s economist and engineers will also give their two year outlooks for the North American and global forest products industry.