Cato Ealy

Cato Ealy joined International Paper in April 1992 as director-corporate development. In June 1996 he was named vice president and then in June 2003 he was promoted to Senior Vice President. In this position, Ealy is responsible for the company's domestic and foreign acquisition and divestiture programs.

Ealy began his professional career in 1979, working two years with MRR Consultants. After completing graduate school in 1983, he joined PaineWebber Inc., as associate-public finance. He was named associate-mortgage finance at the company in 1984 and was promoted to vice president-mergers and acquisitions in 1986. Prior to joining International Paper, Ealy had been a director at Charterhouse Inc., since 1989.

A graduate of Yale University, Ealy holds a bachelor's degree in economics. He earned a master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management.

As of October 2007 Cato Ealy is elected Member of the Board of Directors, Ilim Group.