Materials Science Company Dow Announces Senior Leadership Succession

Jim Fitterling, the chief operation officer for DowDuPont’s Material Science Division as well as the Dow Chemical Company’s president and COO, will be appointed CEO of DowDuPont’s new Material Science Company, which will be called Dow.

“I am very excited and humbled to lead Dow into its next phase of growth,” said Fitterling, who joined Dow in 1984. "...Dow delivers higher and more stable returns for our investors, more innovative and collaborative solutions for our customers, and more world-class opportunities for our employees."

Howard Ungerleider, DowDuPont’s CFO and the Dow Chemical Company’s vice chairman and CFO, will serve as president and CFO of the intended Material Science Company.

"I am committed to working with Howard, and the rest of the Dow team, to further this momentum," Fitterling said. "Our goal is to continue to exceed the expectations of our customers and shareholders by leveraging our integration-backed and innovation-led business model to provide solutions to world-scale challenges.”

Both Fitterling and Ungerleider, who joined Dow in 1990, will continue to serve in their current roles at DowDuPont until the completion of the division’s intended separation, which is expected to occur by the end of first quarter of 2019.

“Ensuring a thoughtful and orderly leadership succession has been a top priority for the Board and for me throughout my tenure as CEO and as a result we have had a very comprehensive succession process since the beginning of my tenure,” said outgoing DowDuPont Executive Chairman Andrew N. Liveris. “We have conducted a robust and thorough validation of our candidates through internal and external benchmarking, and as we stated upon the announcement of the DowDuPont transaction, we intended to announce the future leadership of Dow in advance of the spin and creation of the new Dow.

“Therefore, we believe that now is a good time to put in place the succession plans. Many of our mega-investments, including in Saudi Arabia and on the U.S. Gulf Coast, have started up; the integration of Dow Corning is complete; and our plans to launch the three new spincos are almost completed, with the spin of the future Dow set for the end of the first quarter of 2019,” he continued. “I am confident there is no better leader than Jim, nor a better team of Jim and Howard, to lead Dow into the next chapter of our storied history."

“Jim and Howard have been valued members of Dow’s and my most senior leadership team and have each played a pivotal role in developing and executing Dow’s market-driven strategy,” Liveris added. “Working side-by-side with both individuals over the last number of years, I have seen first-hand their unrivaled knowledge of our business and industry, unparalleled understanding of our customer’s needs, and commitment to fostering an innovative, collaborative and inclusive culture for our people. I am proud of both of them as leaders and as representatives of Dow’s values.”