Jackie Schultz to retire, Corrugated Today to conclude

Jackie Schultz, Editor of CORRUGATED Today, has announced her retirement with the publication of the November/December issue, which will also be the last issue of the publication.

Jeneane Vilardi, and Daniel Brunton, co-owners of Corrugated Today LLC, confirmed that Jackie Schultz, has announced her retirement, effective October 31. Without an editor to carry the book forward, Vilardi and Brunton decided to close the publication after the Nov/Dec issue.

Jackie began her career as a reporter working for daily newspapers in Dayton and Cleveland, Ohio. She switched to business trade journalism in 1985 when she joined Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, a publishing company that had relocated its offices from New York City to Cleveland. She worked on several HBJ publications, eventually becoming the Editor of Paperboard Packaging and the Executive Editor of Official Board Markets in 1991.

At SuperCorrExpo 2004, she was approached by the late Michael Brunton and his son Dan, Managing Director of Brunton Business Publications, along with the late Ted and Tom Vilardi, founder and owners of NV Business Publishers, to join their companies and launch CORRUGATED Today. Despite the gloomy economic prospects at the time, both the Vilardis and the Bruntons saw the value and efficacy of a glossy technical magazine to be published six times per year for the North American corrugated packaging industry; the logical person to spearhead this venture would be Jackie. She took the reins of the publication with the publication of the Jan/Feb 2005 launch issue.

Having earned a following in the industry from her previous 13-year tenure with a competitor, Jackie made CORRUGATED Today a success from the get-go. And she and the magazine only got better. In addition to her responsibilities on CORRUGATED Today, she also wrote for Folding Carton Industry and Board Converting News.

Over the years, Jackie has received many awards for her writing from The Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

Sadly, Mike Brunton passed away this year, Ted Vilardi in 2013 and Tom Vilardi in 2018. Their vision created a successful magazine, brilliantly edited and well respected by the industry. It seems appropriate that CORRUGATED Today retire along with Jackie.

“We cannot thank Jackie enough for her tireless work over the last 16 years,” said Daniel Brunton. “Her knowledge of the industry and focused research ensured readers had a well-produced magazine from cover to cover. She is well respected and will be missed by advertisers and readers alike now that she has chosen to retire and enjoy more family life. We wish Jackie all the very best.”

“Jackie often told me she was in awe of Ted, Mike and Tom,” recounted Jeneane Vilardi. “She was concerned she might not live up to their expectations, but she had nothing to worry about! Her industry knowledge and reporting skills made her the ultimate asset!”

“It is a really tough decision, as CORRUGATED Today was one of my first business ideas I pitched to Ted, Tom and Mike,” added Brunton. “They were not 100 percent convinced it would work, but time proved otherwise. We have had a fantastic run, but the way in which we are sharing content and reporting has changed massively, particularly over the last 18 months and Jackie was becoming increasingly aware that content could become stale if we had to wait 8 weeks for the next issue. Although CORRUGATED Today will conclude with the Nov/Dec issue, rest assured that NV Business Publishers and Brunton Business Publications will continue with their primary role of keeping converters in the North American market up to speed with all the latest news.”

“I have worked with Jackie since she became the editor of Paperboard Packaging in 1991,” said NV’s President/Publisher Robyn Smith. “Her writing skills and commitment to excellence have always been top notch. We had success with PB and OBM and held our own against the NV/Brunton powerhouse. What a delight for both of us to become part of that team! In the past 30 years we have forged not only a formidable business relationship but also a personal friendship. I will miss being part of CORRUGATED Today but won’t say that I’ll miss Jackie as I foresee our friendship continuing. I look forward to hearing about her plans and ventures with Steve as they learn to relax and enjoy retirement.”

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