Keen on Keane: Eight Years of Collaborating on Industry Coverage

As President and CEO of the Flexible Packaging Association, Alison Keane was always available to share her insights on the industry.

Alison Keane, President and CEO of the Flexible Packaging Association — In my first interview with Alison Keane, she discussed the 2023 outlook for the packaging industry, touching on top trends in food/beverage and healthcare packaging, the scarcity and cost of aluminum foil on the global market, and new ways that sustainability is impacting packaging operations and materials. *Courtesy of FPA.*

It was announced recently that, after eight years as President and CEO of the Flexible Packaging Association, Alison Keane will be leaving that position on August 1 to pursue a new opportunity.

Keane’s tenure at FPA and her involvement with Packaging Strategies extends well beyond the 19 months that I have been in this position. Still, I thought this would be an appropriate time to share my appreciation of Keane’s work at FPA and her willingness to make herself available whenever I had questions about the industry.

In fact, one of my first interviews as Chief Editor of Packaging Strategies was with Keane. In that interview, we discussed some of the top trends in food and beverage packaging, and Keane shared some highly relevant figures from FPA’s State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report. You can check out that interview here.

This year marked my first year pulling together Packaging Strategies’ Top 25 Flexible Packaging Converters story. Keane and her team at FPA were instrumental in helping us to identify who merited inclusion in the Top 25, and for that assistance we are extremely grateful.

Even before I joined Packaging Strategies, Keane was willing and eager to share her insights at several events put together by the BNP Media Packaging Group. Those events include Converters Expo, Converters Expo South and Global Pouch Forum. Most recently, at the 2024 Global Pouch Forum, Keane was a keynote speaker and helped cut through the clutter of state-level extended producer responsibility (EPR) initiatives. My reporting on Keane’s highly informative presentation can be found here.

Finally, while I’m not the most qualified person to list Keane’s various accomplishments at FPA, I will say that the association’s announcement in February that it had formed a political action committee (FlexPAC™) impressed me as an important step in the efforts to reach the flexible packaging industry’s legislative and regulatory goals.

I wish Keane all the best in her new endeavors, and I’m looking forward to Packaging Strategies’ continued relationship with FPA as we focus on the many issues and challenges facing the industry.

Brad Addington
Chief Editor, Packaging Strategies
(248) 227-4727
addingtonb@bnpmedia.com

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Brad Addington is Chief Editor of Packaging Strategies and Flexible Packaging. He has more than 25 years of B2B publishing experience following the fresh produce industry, foodservice, retail, petroleum refining, petrochemicals, renewable fuels, and sustainability. He and his family live in Spokane, Washington, and enjoy participating in regional triathlons and marathons. Brad majored in Journalism and Latin American Studies at the University of Kansas.