By By Noah Diedrich Sentinel Staff

Copyright keenesentinel

Prominent Bennington businessman Richard Verney died last week, Monadnock Paper Mills and Monadnock Non-Wovens announced in a news release Thursday.

Verney, 79, died from cancer on Sept. 10, according to his obituary. He was the CEO and chairman of both companies.

For more than 200 years, Monadnock Paper Mills has operated out of Bennington, where it now produces paper for printing and packaging with environmental responsibility, the release says. Its counterpart, Monadnock Non-Wovens in Mount Pocono, Pa., manufactures non-woven materials used in several different markets, such as health care and automotive.

Andrew Manns was appointed CEO following Verney’s death, Ashanti Pack of Aducco Communications told The Sentinel Thursday.

Verney became CEO of Monadnock Paper Mills in 1978, succeeding his father, Gilbert, his obituary says.

“Under his leadership, the company entered a new era of innovation, expanding into emerging markets and product lines while championing environmental responsibility, technical expertise, and long-term reinvestment,” the release states.

In 1998, Verney founded Monadnock Non-Wovens “to meet rising demand in healthcare, filtration, and consumer sectors,” the release says.

Monadnock Paper Mills earned a Platinum EcoVadis rating in 2024, which the release says placed the company among the top 1 percent of companies in the world for environmental, social and ethical performance.

“Our commitment to customers, employees, and partners remains steadfast,” Manns said in a prepared statement. “We will honor Richard’s legacy by serving our customers reliably, investing in our people, and advancing the sustainable innovation that defines Monadnock.”

Verney helped lead several other organizations during his life, serving in various positions for the Crotched Mountain Foundation in Greenfield, Nantucket Conservation Foundation in Massachusetts and Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, the release says. The University of New Hampshire awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2009.

“His conviction that ‘there’s a lot to be said for doing the right thing — simply because it’s the right thing to do’ will continue to guide Monadnock’s engagement in education, conservation, and local philanthropy,” the release says.

Manns began at the companies in 1988 as an outside consultant and investment banker before becoming chief financial officer and treasurer in 1995, the release says. He retired in 2024, but is returning as CEO at Verney’s personal request, according to the release.