VJA Associates

The Source Alliance was founded in 2002 as a loosely connected group of recruiters with common interests.

All ten alliance members have led a career in a segment of the packaging industry and all ten alliance members recruit mid-level and senior level managers with that same market arena.

The common thread in the members recruiting efforts is their focus on packaging personnel within the Packaging Converting arena as well as in Plastic Film and Resins and in the Food and Drug Manufacturing. Members are listed below.

Bill Read - ReadSource, Ltd

One of the founders of The Source Alliance, Bill has 38 years of senior management experience with companies such as Packaging Corporation of America, Reynolds Metals Company, Sonoco Products Company, International Paper Company and Pactiv Corporation.

He also co-owned Pressware International, a manufacturer of dual-ovenable trays for the processed foods and food service industries, and has extensive high-level contacts in the food, beverage, packaging, pharmaceutical and consumer durable industries.

Bob Strahan - Strahan Source, LLC

A graduate engineer from Yale University and one-time President of the Gravure Association of America (1983-85), Bob spent his entire career as an executive and owner in the printing ink industry. During that time, he was associated with Thiele-Engdahl, Strahan Ink & Lacquer, ICI Specialty Inks and Sun Chemical, focusing on gravure and flexo inks and coatings for packaging and specialty applications, including floor covering and automotive interiors/exteriors. One of the founders of The Source Alliance, he recruits management talent for the ink, packaging and processed foods industry.

George Garbade - GarbadeSource LLC

Prior to joining The Source Alliance, George Garbade spent 25 years with Sonoco Products Company, a leading global manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging, holding various senior domestic and international sales, marketing and general management positions. He has extensive global experience and enjoys many high-level contacts in converting, film, paper and packaging industries throughout North American territories.

Ed McCarthy - Edsec-U-Source, Ltd

Prior to joining The Source Alliance, Ed spent 36 years in sales and marketing management with Continental Plastic Container, a leading manufacturer of plastic bottles for food, household, motor oil, and other products. He has extensive knowledge of the blow molding industry, its technologies, its suppliers and the markets it serves. He has high-level contacts at several Fortune 500 consumer products and packaging companies,and concentrates on searches in the packaging, food and beverage, and household products industries.

Griff Jones - The Griffin Group, Inc

Prior to joining The Source Alliance, Griff, a graduate Metallurgical Engineer, spent 31 years in the Quality and Operations management for the aluminum and plastics industries, His last two industrial roles were as Director of Operations for the Reynolds Master Can Division, where he was responsible for the seventeen U.S. plants, including Puerto Rico, and as Vice President of Operations, N. A. for Schmalbach Lubeca Plastic Containers, overseeing eighteen of their plants. His major areas of focus and contact are in the metal and PET packaging area as well as the aluminum industry in general.

Dave Reese - ReeseSource & Associates

Dave began a 32 year career in sales, marketing management and recruiting with Procter & Gamble. His plastics background evolved through expanding roles at General Electric Plastics (resin), Shell Oil's subsidiary, Rampart Products (now Printpack co extrusion / thermoforming), Blessings Corp / Edison Plastics (co-extruded film), and OMNOVA Solutions (vinyl Decorative Laminates). He focuses his recruiting efforts on plastics as well as flexible and rigid packaging for food and beverage applications.

Robert Root - RootSource Ltd.

Bob spent over 30 years with Reynolds Metals Company in their Flexible and Rigid packaging business. He held various sales / marketing positions in both the field and at corporate responsible for sales of packaging products sold direct or through distribution channels to key Good, Beverage, Pharmaceutical and Industrial customers. Bob has developed excellent contacts within the industries he serviced over he years. He was active in the Margarine Association, Packaging Education Foundation, Aluminum Association and IOPP.

Larry Howard - HowardSource, LLC

Before joining The Source Alliance, Larry had over thirty years experience in the packaging industry, holding various sales/marketing and senior management positions with American Can, James River, Fort James and with Hubtamaki, where he was a Business Unit General Manager and Vice President of Sales and Marketing Consumer Packaging. His background includes folding cartons, microwave packaging, shaped paperboard, equipment systems, flexible products, injection molded and thermoformed plastic containers, and molded fiber. He has worked extensively with both the paperboard converting industries and leading consumer product organizations, and focuses his recruiting talent on the requirements of the general packaging market.

Phil Murphree - Murphree Source & Associates, LLC

Phil Murphree comes to The Source Alliance as a veteran in the packaging industry. He has over 32 years of experience, having held senior positions with PCL Packaging (President), Battenfeld Gloucester Engineering (CEO & President), QPF LLC (President), Printpack (Vice President), James River Corporation (Vice President) and Crown Zellerbach. Phil's background includes all areas of film extrusion and converting as well as the extrusion capital equipment business. He will focus his recruiting efforts on all aspects of the packaging industry.