SUNY Maritime College 2019-2020 Annual Report

DESIGNATED GIFT

WILLIAM F. AUSTEN ’80 First Million Dollar Donor

W hen William F. Austen set out to pursue a Bachelor of Marine Engineering at Maritime College over four decades ago, he could only imagine the journey that lay ahead. He served on the varsity swim team throughout his four years at the College and became the swim team’s captain. He sought out leadership positions and became an Indoctrination Officer, took on the role of assistant division officer during Summer Sea Term, and served on the Regimental Command. Upon graduating in 1980 with a U.S. Coast Guard Third Assistant Engineer License and commission in the U.S. Navy, he married his high school sweetheart, Nancy. Austen began his professional career as a field engineer with General Electric (GE) Marine Services in Newport, VA. He spent 9 years in Virginia and was promoted to sales engineer and engineering manager where he was responsible for growing and leading the marine services businesses from Virginia to Miami,

FL. During this time, Austen attended George Washington University to complete a master’s degree in Engineering Administration in 1984. His trajectory with GE would set Austen on course to Chicago as GE’s mid-west district manager. There, he was responsible for various automation projects within the industrial services division and soon became the regional manager of a wider district. Austen spent eight additional years with GE in turnaround assignments, affording him the opportunity to run domestic, global and wholly owned subsidiary companies, as well as helping him grow professionally and develop a variety of skills. After 20 successful years at GE, Austen was recruited by Bemis Company to take on the position of President and CEO, Morgan Adhesives Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bemis Company in Ohio. He worked for 3 years in Ohio before being asked to serve as Vice

President of Operations of the Bemis Company headquarters in Oshkosh, WI. Bemis Company is a publicly traded NYSE listed company and a leader in packaging for food, consumer product, healthcare and industrial applications through the talents of more than 16,000 employees at 56 plants in 12 countries worldwide. Austen’s knowledge of the Bemis Company’s business, operations and customers contributed to the phenomenal growth of the manufacturing and operations, skill in international mergers and acquisitions, and business integration contributed to the expansion of Bemis into Latin America and Asia. Austen retired in 2019 as President and CEO of Bemis Company, capping a highly successful 19-year career after merging the company with Amcor Packaging, creating the largest and most valued consumer goods packaging company across the globe. 161-year-old company. His expertise in global

“The opportunity to be a leader is one of the most unique aspects that every Fort Schuyler graduate learns and leaves with when they graduate. “

–Bill Austen ’80

2 Annual Report 2019-2020