Promotion Reflects Association’s Commitment to its Vision of the Metal Can as the Superior, Sustainable Package
Photo: Tim Ebner, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, CMI
WASHINGTON, DC – May 1, 2025 – Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) President Robert Budway announced the promotion of Tim Ebner to vice president of communications and marketing, effective immediately.
Ebner has been recognized as a strong communicator and leader on behalf of the association’s trade, recycling, and sustainability efforts. Upon his promotion, Ebner will also manage the industry’s away-from-home recycling program under the Every Can Counts U.S. chapter, which includes major recycling initiatives taking place this year in New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and New York City.
“Tim works hard every day to elevate the metal can industry’s reputation and profile across our value chain,” said CMI President Robert Budway. “He leads several strategic communications and marketing campaigns and works closely on our public policy issues to deliver results on behalf of the CMI members. Tim is also a natural-born connector of people, and he leads on bringing stakeholder groups together to work on complex issues.”
Ebner currently serves on The Recycling Partnership’s Communications Committee, and he is a judge on the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Power of Associations Awards Committee. And earlier this year, he was honored by CEO Update and Association Trends as a 2025 Association Trailblazer.
Prior to his role at CMI, Ebner served in a variety of communications and journalism roles, including the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), where he was communications director and press secretary; ASAE where he was the senior editor of Associations Now Magazine; and Atlantic Media where he was both an editorial manager and content editor.
“I am excited to advance the metal can industry’s reputation even further by highlighting our sustainability record and legacy as one of the longest-running U.S. manufacturing sectors,” Ebner said. “We have dedicated members and partners who support our work each and every day, and I am thankful for their commitment and leadership.”
Ebner graduated cum laude from Fordham University in the Bronx, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American and Spanish Studies. He earned a master’s in journalism from the University of Maryland in College Park and received the Gene Roberts Award and was recognized as an Eleanor Merrill Graduate Journalism Fellow.
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Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) is the national trade association of the metal can manufacturing industry and its suppliers in the United States. The can industry accounts for the annual domestic production of approximately 135 billion food, beverage, aerosol and general line cans; employs more than 28,000 people with plants in 33 states, Puerto Rico and American Samoa; and generates about $15.7 billion in direct economic activity.