The People of GP Cellulose: David Brabham – Senior Director of Customer Engagement, Sustainability, and Stewardship
At GP Cellulose, we believe that environmental stewardship isn’t just a priority, it’s better business. A key leader driving this impact is David Brabham, Senior Director of Customer Engagement, Sustainability, and Stewardship. With nearly 12 years of experience at Georgia-Pacific, David has played a pivotal role in advancing our stewardship efforts and building meaningful relationships with customers. “Nature and the environment that surrounds us is part of our shared human experience, so we have a unique responsibility to be good stewards of these resources,” David says. Let’s explore how David’s efforts are shaping impactful initiatives for our customers and defining stewardship at GP Cellulose.
Leading with Purpose at GP
David began his journey at Georgia-Pacific with a focus on forest certifications, ensuring forests are managed responsibly. Over time, his work expanded to encompass broader stewardship and sustainability initiatives, playing a key role in fostering customer partnerships to align our business practices with their priorities.
David transitioned to his current role in 2024, shifting to a dedicated emphasis on GP Cellulose with the addition of customer engagement. This allows him to collaborate more closely with GP Cellulose customers, building trust and fostering meaningful relationships that deliver real impact.
David’s dedication to his work extends to those around him; he finds fulfillment in mentoring team members and fostering their growth. Whether it is encouraging innovation or solving challenges, he takes pride in seeing his colleagues succeed and is passionate about building a supportive environment for his team.
Fostering Collaboration for Greater Impact
David’s focus on integrity and collaboration has helped GP Cellulose in addressing critical topics for our customers such as stewardship of forests, environmental policies, and responsible resource management. “Our customers are increasingly needing enhanced data and insights to meet goals, policies, and regulations regarding their supply chains’ impact to nature,” David explains. A testament to his work is his recent efforts to leverage ForestLogic™, a technology developed by the wood procurement team at Georgia-Pacific, to support our customers in a new way. He collaborated with the team behind the platform to explore how its advanced capabilities could be applied to create solutions tailored to customer needs, improving transparency and accuracy in reporting. “Nature and technology don’t often get placed in the same sentence together, but GP’s unique technology is delivering true benefits for nature while solving a customer need,” he says.
At IDEA 2025 in Miami, FL, David will expand on this work in his presentation, Transforming Forest and Biodiversity Data into Sustainable Product Decisions and Enhanced Reporting Through Emerging Technology. His talk will spotlight how tools like ForestLogic™ enhances traceability, safeguards biodiversity, and supports sustainable supply chains, while offering actionable insights that align innovative technology with responsible practices. David continues, “The work our GP team has done to build an innovative solution that solves for customer needs is awe inspiring- I am thankful that I get to share the story about how innovation, stewardship, and collaboration can overcome some of today’s largest challenges.” This presentation will offer a unique perspective on harnessing forward-thinking technology to support stewardship initiatives.
A Journey Rooted in Nature
David’s path to becoming a leader in environmental stewardship was shaped by a lifelong connection to nature. His experience growing up on a llama farm in Ohio is where this connection took root. That bond led him to study Natural Resource Management at The Ohio State University and have early career experiences in the National Park System and within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This shaped his career and provided him with the tools and perspective needed to be a leader in environmental stewardship at GP Cellulose.
Connecting with Nature Off the Clock
David’s connection to the outdoors does not end at work. He and his wife, Millie, along with their two boys, enjoy hiking, birding, camping, and exploring nature together. An avid trail runner, David has completed races of impressive distance and of unmatched scenery. He’s even charted international terrain, running a marathon in Italy and trails in the Alps and Sweden. This fall, he plans to take on the Grand Canyon.
When not on the trails, David channels his energy into hands-on construction projects around their home and property. These pursuits reflect the same resourcefulness and attention to detail that define his professional work.
Carrying Stewardship Forward
David embodies the values of stewardship, responsibility, and innovation that define GP Cellulose. Through his work, he continues to build trust, foster impactful partnerships, and drive meaningful change. We take pride in celebrating David’s contributions and his ability to represent GP Cellulose with expertise and unwavering commitment to supporting our customers.
Be on the lookout for more information on his upcoming presentation at IDEA 2025!
To learn more about GP Cellulose’s commitment to growing responsibly, click HERE.