MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow’s CEO Jim Fitterling is to take on the additional role of board chairman in April, said the company.
"Jim has demonstrated exceptional leadership of Dow, successfully guiding the Company through its separation from DowDuPont Inc. and strengthening its competitive position among industry peers," said Jeff Fettig, non-executive chairman of Dow’s Board of Directors. "The board is confident that this appointment will enable Jim to continue to accelerate the meaningful changes he has already initiated for Dow to achieve its ambition as a world-leading materials science company."
Following the Annual Meeting, directors will select an independent lead director who has served for at least one year on the Board.
Dow also announced that Jill Wyant, executive vice president and president of global regions at Ecolab Inc., has been nominated to stand for election to Dow’s Board of Directors at the Company’s Annual Meeting. As a senior strategy and operating executive with 25 years of experience leading Fortune 500 businesses in the industrial and healthcare sectors, Ms. Wyant brings a strong track record of driving business growth and profitability through breakthrough innovation, manufacturing excellence and operational efficiency, as well as experience driving enterprise-wide digital transformations.
"We are certain that Jill’s fresh and relevant perspective from a parallel industry will enhance the diversity of experience and ideas within our Board," said Fettig. "Her global business management, innovation, sustainability and consumer expertise is fully aligned with Dow’s ambition and growth strategy."
Furthermore, Ruth G. Shaw, former group executive for public policy and president at Duke Nuclear, will continue to serve out her term until the Annual Meeting, at which time she will retire in accordance with the director tenure requirements of the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines. With 15 years of exemplary leadership on Dow’s Board, Ms. Shaw has contributed significantly to the oversight of Dow and served on a variety of committees, including, most recently, as chair of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee. She also helped lead the Company through several transformational events, including the DowDuPont transaction.
Dow’s Board of Directors bring a variety of relevant skills and diverse experiences, which includes senior leadership, global business, capital allocation, financial acumen, technology expertise, operational experience, as well as marketing and academic research backgrounds. The board is comprised of a strong balance of new and experienced directors, with more than half joining in the past five years. Additionally, Dow’s board possesses gender and ethnic diversity – more than half of the independent directors are female or members of a U.S. ethnic minority group.
As MRC reported earlier, Dow plans to install a new furnace in its steam cracker at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, increasing its ethylene capacity, currently 1.42 million metric tons/year (MMt/y), by 130,000 metric tons/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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