Richard J. Carota is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Finch, Pruyn & Co., Inc., a 140–year–old, independent manufacturer of premium uncoated printing papers located in Glens Falls, NY. The company also owns and manages more than 160,000 acres of forestland, primarily in New York’s Central Adirondack region. Finch, Pruyn employs more than 800 people, with an annual payroll with benefits of approximately $58 million.
He was born June 5, 1937 the first of three children born to Gladys E. and Patrick J. Carota. He graduated from St. Mary’s Grammar School in Hudson Falls in 1950 and from Hudson Falls High School in 1954. He attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for two years. He has three sons Michael, Timothy and Christopher.
Mr. Carota joined Finch, Pruyn as a laborer in 1956 sweeping out railroad cars for $1.35 an hour, and was soon elected secretary–treasurer of Local 20 of the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulfite & Energy Workers International Union. He earned a rapid series of promotions, placing him in the position of scheduling/customer service manager within his first five years with the company.
In 1970, at age 32, he became one of the paper industry‘s youngest plant managers. In this capacity, he oversaw the implementation of a unique pulping process – a pivotal development in the history of manufacturing in 1974.
In 1979, he was elected to the board of directors and, in 1980, named executive vice president. He was elected president in 1982, CEO in 1983 and, in 1984, became the first non–family member to hold the position of Chairman.
He is a former member of the Board of Directors of Arrow Financial Corp. and the Glens Falls National Bank and the Glens Falls Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees. He is currently a member of the Board of the Business Council of New York State and Chairman of the Finch, Pruyn. Board of Directors. Mr. Carota’s contributions to Finch, Pruyn and the paper industry were recognized by his peers in 1993 as he was named Executive of the Year by the National Paper Industry Management Association.
Among the noteworthy accomplishments since becoming president at Finch, Pruyn in 1982 are: Assets grew from $106 million in 1982 to $326 million in 2005; net sales increased from $127 million in 1982 to over $200 million in 2004; paper production increased from 189,511 tons in 1982 to 255,248 tons in 2004; dividends paid since 1982 totaled $88,000,000; net income produced since 1982 was $235,000,000; authorized capital expenditures, totaling over $450 million including the building of a $25 million co–generation plant that has made the company virtually energy–independent; a $20 million modernization of the company’s largest paper machine increasing paper production by 60 tons per day; the $10 million conversion to an elemental chlorine–free pulp bleaching process, and the independent certification of the company’s forest management practices as meeting the standards for responsible forestry established by the international Forest Stewardship Council.