Chairman bids farewell after 54 years at helm of packaging empire

The outgoing Smurfit-Kappa chairman, Dr Michael Smurfit, invoked the modus vivendi of the late Frank Sinatra in his farewell to staff after 54 years at the helm of the packaging empire.

In a week in which the group's return to the public markets was marked by its defiance of turbulence on global stock exchanges, Dr Smurfit said in an emotional valedictory letter that he had "many wonderful, unforgettable memories" of the organisation.

"While I will never claim that every decision I made was right, I, as the song goes, did it 'my way', and when I see the Smurfit-Kappa group today it was the 'right way'," he said.

"Little did I believe, despite my dreams, that on this retirement day that the Jefferson Smurfit group that my father started would evolve into the magnificent company that it is today.

"When I think back on the difficulties I encountered when building the company, I can honestly say that I have done my father's legacy proud. You cannot imagine how I honour his memory when I think back to the fact that he started with nothing other than a small box shop in Dublin."

Dr Smurfit praised former colleagues, the group's management and its new chairman, Seán FitzPatrick. "He is a man of prodigious talent and a highly respected individual.

"In doing anything in life, you are only as good as those around you and who stand by you in the good times as well as the bad. I have been extremely lucky to work with many outstanding people, without whom I could not have succeeded, in particular Howard Kilroy and Jim Malloy."

He was honoured by the composition of the group's board and confident they would guide the group in the right direction.

"The executive group that leads this company today is far and away the most competent in the paper and packaging industry. Gary McGann is one of the hardest-working and gifted executives that I have ever had the pleasure of working with."

He was "immensely proud" of his son, Tony Smurfit, group chief operations officer, and said finance chief Ian Curley led one of the best teams in the sector.

"To you our other people who work day and night in our business, I can only say a very big 'thank you'.

"At the end of the day it is you who make the business succeed. Without your efforts, customers would not be satisfied and as a consequence our business would not exist."