Dow announces divisional structure and leadership changes

The Dow Chemical Company on August 16 announced business structure and leadership changes to continue driving the company’s transformation.

“These appointments build upon the momentum of our new portfolio, and will play a key role in taking us to the next level of our transformational strategy,” said Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s chairman and chief executive officer. “As the global economic environment continues its recovery, now is the time to solidify our business-led structure to ensure we are well positioned for the long-term as an earnings-growth, technology-driven and customer-centric company.”

All appointees will report directly to Liveris and are effective immediately.

Jim Fitterling, senior vice president of corporate development, has been named president of Plastics and Hydrocarbons and an executive vice president of Dow. He will continue to be based in Midland, Mich.

Juan Luciano, senior vice president of Basic Plastics, Hydrocarbons & Energy & JVs, has been named president of the Performance Division, which will consist of Dow’s Performance Products and Performance Systems divisions, and an executive vice president of Dow. He will continue to be based in Midland.

Jerome Peribere will continue in his current role as president and CEO of Dow’s Advanced Materials Division. In addition he has been named an executive vice president of Dow. Peribere will continue to be based in Philadelphia.

Carol Williams, senior vice president of Basic Chemicals, has been named president of the Chemicals and Energy Division and a group senior vice president of Dow, adding the Energy business to her responsibilities. Williams will continue to be based in Midland.

Heinz Haller, executive vice president of Performance Systems and Marketing and Sales, has been named chief commercial officer, responsible for corporate marketing and sales and all Dow new business growth activities including Joint Ventures and subsidiaries in new business areas. He will serve as Dow’s lead representative for Dow Corning and Dow Kokam, and will continue oversight of Dow AgroSciences, Asia Pacific and the company’s new Olympics Business Unit. Haller will also add oversight of Dow’s presence in Latin America, and will continue to be based in Midland.

Jim McIlvenny, senior vice president of Performance Products, has been named group senior vice president of mega projects and of Dow. McIlvenny will have full responsibility for Dow’s mega projects, including the company’s proposed joint venture to build a world-scale integrated manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia, and the proposed Yulin Integrated Chemicals project in China. These critical-to-Dow projects will be the foundations and enablers for our emerging markets and geographic growth. McIlvenny will continue to be based in Midland.

“I am excited about and confident in the leadership and business structure we are putting in place to further drive the full potential of our new portfolio and deliver the next phase of the new Dow,” said Liveris. “Each of these leaders is uniquely qualified, based on their collective experience and tenure in a global marketplace, and I look forward to working with them as we remain focused on executing our strategic agenda and delivering continued earnings growth.”

About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow’s diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high-growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The company’s more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe.