Peter C. Browning
As founder and Managing Director of Peter Browning Partners, LLC, a board advisory service, Peter has a wide range of experience in business. Beginning as a sales trainee, he spent 24 years with the Continental Can Company, including President of two different divisions, last serving as Executive Vice President – Operating Officer. He joined National Gypsum Company in 1989, and in September 1990, was elected Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Gypsum Company, seeing the company through and out of bankruptcy.
He joined Sonoco Products Company, (a $5 billion global packaging company) in November 1993 where he last served as President and Chief Executive Officer, before retiring in July 2000. In March, 2002, he was appointed Dean of the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte where he served until May 2005.
He is a native of Boston, MA. A 1963 graduate of Colgate University with an AB in history, he earned his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1976. The Harvard Business School prepared a case study regarding his success in effecting changes at Continental’s White Cap Division. A case study has also been written on his experience at National Gypsum for use at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Since 1989, he has served on the board of directors of fourteen publicly traded companies, including ten years at Wachovia Corporation, sixteen years at Lowes Companies, sixteen years at Nucor Corporation where he served as non-executive chairman and lead director, and finally, fourteen years at EnPro Industries. In that time, he has been Chairman and CEO, CEO, non-executive chair, lead director and chair of audit, compensation, and governance/nominating committees. Browning is currently the lead director of Acuity Brands, and a member of the Board of Directors of ScanSource, Inc. and GMS,Inc. In January, 2013, he joined the board of the private company Equilar, the leading provider of compensation and governance data, as lead independent director.
In the fall of 2004 Board Alert Magazine selected Peter as one of eight “Outstanding Directors of the Year” for his role in the successful CEO transitions at Lowe’s and Nucor. He is also the 2009 recipient of Boston University’s “Gislason Award for Leadership in Executive Development.” He was selected for the “2011 and 2012 NACD Director 100 List” (the list of the most influential people in corporate governance in the boardroom).
The Nucor Corp. 2014 Annual Report noted: “This year also marks Peter Browning’s final year on the board of directors. I cannot say enough about the tremendous value Peter brought to Nucor during his 15 years as a director….. Peter sets the standard by which other public company directors are measured. His knowledge of corporate governance, outstanding judgment and excellent interpersonal skills are second to none…‘’
He is the coauthor (with his business partner William Sparks) of “The Director’s Manual: A Framework for Board Governance” published by Wiley in February 2016.
In April 2010, his chapter “Leadership in the Corner Office: The Board’s Most Important Responsibility” was published in the Jossey-Bass and Center for Creative Leadership book titled “Extraordinary Leadership: Addressing the Gaps in Senior Executive Development”.
In addition, Peter is a founding member of the Lead Director Network and a frequent participant in governance seminars, serving on panels addressing a wide variety of corporate governance and compensation issues.
He is a lifetime member of The University of Chicago, Council on the Booth Graduate School of Business; and served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Peter is married and has four children and seven grandchildren, currently living with his wife Kathy in Charlotte, NC.
