His priorities include driving the company’s global pricing strategy, aligning its product portfolio with existing and planned customer needs and driving consumer and customer demand for glass.
Gardner succeeds Erasmo Schutzer who left the company earlier this year.
“Customer connectivity and growth are key opportunities for O-I and I’m excited to drive those efforts,” said Gardner.
“We intend to significantly increase value for our customers and continue growing the global market for glass.”
Packager O-I, which is one of the world’s largest glass container manufacturers, recorded revenue of over $6bn in 2010.
“Tony brings a great deal of experience and understanding of our customer base. We expect he will significantly strengthen our commercial abilities and help us lead the rebirth of glass packaging,” said O-I CEO Al Stroucken.