Tim Lee Promoted to Director of Automation at GPA

Global Process Automation™ has promoted Tim Lee to Director of Automation, where he will lead automation strategy and project execution across the South-Central region.

Tim has spent more than 36 years working in industrial automation, with experience that spans mill operations, corporate engineering, and large control system upgrades. He has worked directly in operating facilities throughout his career, bringing a practical understanding of how automation systems perform in real-world conditions.

Built from the Plant Floor Up

Tim began his career in the early 1990s in instrumentation and process control, following formal coursework in electrical and electronics engineering and hands-on technical training in instrumentation. He later completed an associate degree in Controls and Industrial Technology with a focus on instrumentation and went on to earn a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

He started as a Process Control Engineer at International Paper, where he supported multiple paper machines and resolved process and control issues across mill operations.

“If it was broke, I fixed it,” Tim said. “From instrumentation to motor starters, drives, PLC troubleshooting, DCS programming, whatever it was. You didn’t have a big headcount, so you learned to do a lot.”

That combination of technical education and hands-on plant experience shaped both his technical depth and his understanding of how automation systems behave under real operating conditions.

From Mill Operations to Corporate Engineering

Tim later joined Graphic Packaging International, where he spent nearly a decade progressing from Senior Process Controls Engineer to Corporate Senior Controls Engineer. In those roles, he supported power, recovery, and utilities systems at the mill level before transitioning into corporate engineering, working across facilities on process validation, layouts, and control strategy.

“I don’t consider myself an expert at any one thing,” Tim explained. “But I have a pretty good understanding of the full picture, and that matters when you’re trying to control a process.”

After Graphic Packaging, Tim worked with Ford, Bacon & Davis as an Automation and Control Systems Specialist, leading controls efforts on large engineering projects throughout the region.

Capital Automation and Corporate Leadership

Tim later returned to International Paper in a corporate Technology SME role focused on DCS, PLC, and process control, where he supported major capital automation projects across the organization.

“These DCS projects are basically heart transplants,” Tim said. “That system has been running a boiler, a digester, or a paper machine for 20 or 30 years, and it has tentacles everywhere. You’re replacing something that everything depends on.”

He emphasized that successful execution depends on discipline and preparation.

“You have to peel that onion back and understand 90 to 95 percent of what’s there,” Tim said. “You’ll never know everything, but doing the work up front gives you a much better chance of success.”

That mindset shaped how those projects were planned and carried out.

Leadership at GPA

Tim joined GPA in January 2025 as a Manager of Process Automation and has since been promoted to Director of Process Automation.

In this role, Tim focuses on guiding project teams at a higher level rather than day-to-day technical execution. He supports project managers and technical leads with project planning, scheduling, staffing, and overall approach, drawing on experience from large capital automation projects.

“If I’ve got the right people in place, they don’t need me from a technical perspective,” Tim said. “Where I come into play is helping with how we’re going to pull a project off, how we’re staffed, and how it fits with everything else going on.”

Tim also supports business development efforts, meeting directly with customers and prospects to discuss automation projects and provide perspective shaped by decades of mill and corporate experience.

“There’s value added when someone who’s been around a mill for that long can sit down with a customer,” Tim said. “They know you understand what they’re dealing with, and that gives them confidence.”

A People-First View of Automation Leadership

Throughout his career, Tim emphasizes that automation success depends on people as much as technology.

“Honestly, most of my career has been about people,” Tim said. “You can write code, but if you don’t understand the process or how people work together, you’re going to struggle.”

As Director of Process Automation, Tim focuses on sup

porting project teams and helping automation personnel grow in their roles. He also works directly with customers to walk through automation projects based on real operating experience.