Charles W. Coker
Encyclopedia
Charles "Charlie" Westfield Coker (born May 10, 1933) is the former president and CEO of Sonoco Products Company of Hartsville
, South Carolina
, U.S.A.. He also serves as a director of Bank of America
, HanesBrands Inc., Springs Industries, and Carolina Power & Light Company (now Progress Energy Inc.). He is chairman of the board of Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina
. He was a director of Sara Lee Corporation for several years, but retired from that position in October 2006. Along with being initiated into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame, Coker has been granted South Carolina's highest honor, the Order of the Palmetto
.
Coker is the son of Charles W. and Elizabeth Howard Coker and the great-great-grandson of Business Hall of Fame honoree Major James Lide Coker
, who founded Sonoco Products Company after the Coker plantation was destroyed in March 1865. Originally founded as a paper mill, Sonoco is now one of the world's major producers of different types of commercial and consumer product packaging. When Charlie Coker succeeded his father as president in 1970, Sonoco had annual sales of $125 million, there were 6,000 employees, and its operations totaled 61. By 1998, when he moved from chief executive officer and chairman of the board, Sonoco had annual sales of $2.56 billion and its 16,500 employees were stationed at more than 275 locations in 85 countries on five continents.
After attending Woodberry Forest School
in Orange, Virginia, Coker received a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University
and an MBA from Harvard Business School
. Coker is married to South Carolina civic leader Joan F. Sasser, and they have six children: Charles, Ellen, Howard, Carrie, Margaret, and Thomas, and 21 grandchildren.
Hartsville, South Carolina
Hartsville is a small city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsville is located at ....
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, U.S.A.. He also serves as a director of Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, HanesBrands Inc., Springs Industries, and Carolina Power & Light Company (now Progress Energy Inc.). He is chairman of the board of Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina
Medical University of South Carolina
The Medical University of South Carolina opened in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824 as a small private college for the training of physicians. It is one of the oldest continually operating school of medicine in the United States and the oldest in the Deep South...
. He was a director of Sara Lee Corporation for several years, but retired from that position in October 2006. Along with being initiated into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame, Coker has been granted South Carolina's highest honor, the Order of the Palmetto
Order of the Palmetto
The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the Governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to persons who make contributions of statewide significance. An auxiliary honor is "The Order of the Silver Crescent." Today it is awarded to persons who make community or professional...
.
Coker is the son of Charles W. and Elizabeth Howard Coker and the great-great-grandson of Business Hall of Fame honoree Major James Lide Coker
James Lide Coker
Major James Lide Coker Civil War veteran, founder of Sonoco, Coker College, businessman, merchant, banker, railroad man, industrialist, philanthropist...
, who founded Sonoco Products Company after the Coker plantation was destroyed in March 1865. Originally founded as a paper mill, Sonoco is now one of the world's major producers of different types of commercial and consumer product packaging. When Charlie Coker succeeded his father as president in 1970, Sonoco had annual sales of $125 million, there were 6,000 employees, and its operations totaled 61. By 1998, when he moved from chief executive officer and chairman of the board, Sonoco had annual sales of $2.56 billion and its 16,500 employees were stationed at more than 275 locations in 85 countries on five continents.
After attending Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest School
Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 402. Students come from 28 U.S...
in Orange, Virginia, Coker received a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and an MBA from Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. Coker is married to South Carolina civic leader Joan F. Sasser, and they have six children: Charles, Ellen, Howard, Carrie, Margaret, and Thomas, and 21 grandchildren.