Personalities
Gary Phillips to join A. Schulman as Chief Commercial Officer
A. Schulman, Inc. announced on December 14, 2016, Gary Phillips has joined the Company as its chief commercial officer. In this newly created role, which reports directly to the chief executive officer, Phillips (57) will be responsible for driving profitable revenue growth on a global basis
Immediate priorities include creating heightened alignment and accountability within the global sales and marketing teams across product families, as well as helping to accelerate the Company’s rejuvenated, customer-centric product innovation initiative.
Prior to joining A. Schulman, Phillips served as the vice president and general manager of Comcast Cable in West Palm Beach, Florida from 2014 through 2016. During his tenure, he and his team of more than 300 sales and support professionals delivered profitable sales and revenues in the commercial marketplace that were consistently in excess of annual target goals. Phillips was instrumental in establishing strong cross-functional relationships across the organization – from product development to operations to sales – to assist the company in delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction.
From 2001 through 2012, he held various roles of increasing responsibility with Centurylink – and its predecessor company Qwest Communications – where he ultimately served as the vice president of business markets/central region. In this capacity, he created a world-class sales organization that utilized an accountability model to drive strong financial growth and continuous improvement in customer satisfaction and sales productivity, among other things. From 2012 until 2014, Phillips was an independent consultant, focusing primarily on sales team optimization and leadership development.
“Throughout his career, Gary has consistently helped organizations maintain a proper alignment with evolving, highly technical customer needs,” said Joseph M. Gingo, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “His ability to create impactful relationships with colleagues and customers alike will be critical to our success in reinvigorating our growth plan in fiscal 2017 and beyond.”
He began his career as a radio communications representative with Motorola Corporation in 1983, before taking leadership roles with MCI Telecommunications Corp, eSpire Communications and Metromedia Fiber Network/AboveNet Communications. Phillips received a Bachelor of Arts in Managerial Economics from Marietta College.
“I’m excited to join A. Schulman and greatly appreciate Joe entrusting me in this role,” said Phillips. “I look forward to directly working with our regional senior vice presidents to drive sales performance and further distinguish the Company as a leader within the industry. With the Company’s high-quality products and services, which are underpinned with a strong corporate culture, I believe we are well-positioned to continue to grow with customers.”
Schulman, Inc. is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Since 1928, the Company has been providing innovative solutions to meet its customers’ demanding requirements. The Company’s customers span a wide range of markets such as packaging, mobility, building & construction, electronics & electrical, agriculture, personal care & hygiene, sports, leisure & home, custom services and others. The Company employs approximately 4800 people and has 54 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman reported net sales of approximately USD 2.5 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2016.
Changes in the Board of Executive Directors of BASF
The Supervisory Board of BASF SE appointed on December 15, 2016.Saori Dubourg (45) and Dr. Markus Kamieth (46) to the Board of Executive Directors effective May 13, 2017. Dubourg has been head of BASF’s Health & Nutrition division since 2013. Kamieth has led BASF’s Coatings division since 2012
Margret Suckale (60) will retire with the expiration of her contract following the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 12, 2017. At the same time, Dr. Harald Schwager (56) will leave BASF’s Board of Executive Directors in support of long-term succession planning. Schwager has been with BASF for 28 years. He was appointed to the Board in 2008 and is currently responsible for the divisions Construction Chemicals; Crop Protection; Bioscience Research; and Region Europe. Suckale joined BASF in 2009 and has been on the Board since 2011. She is Industrial Relations Director and responsible for the divisions Engineering & Maintenance; Environmental Protection, Health & Safety; European Site & Verbund Management; and Human Resources.
Following these changes, the Board of Executive Directors has decided to redistribute its responsibilities effective May 13, 2017:
Dr. Kurt Bock (58), Chairman, Ressort I
Legal, Taxes, Insurance & Intellectual Property; Corporate Development; Corporate Communications & Government Relations; Senior Executive Human Resources; Investor Relations; Compliance
Michael Heinz (52), Industrial Relations Director, Ressort II
Engineering & Maintenance; Environmental Protection, Health & Safety; European Site & Verbund Management; Human Resources
Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel (57), Chief Financial Officer, Ressort III
Finance; Oil & Gas; Procurement; Supply Chain Operations & Information Services; Corporate Controlling; Corporate Audit
Dr. Markus Kamieth (46), Ressort IV
Care Chemicals; Nutrition & Health; Performance Chemicals; Advanced Materials & Systems Research; Region South America
Saori Dubourg (45), Ressort V
Construction Chemicals; Crop Protection; Bioscience Research; Region Europe
Dr. Martin Brudermüller (55), Vice Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, Ressort VI
Petrochemicals; Monomers; Intermediates; Process Research & Chemical Engineering; Corporate Technology & Operational Excellence; BASF New Business
Wayne T. Smith (56), Ressort VII located in North America
Catalysts; Coatings; Performance Materials; Market & Business Development, Site & Verbund Management North America; Regional Functions & Country Platforms North America
Sanjeev Gandhi (49), Ressort VIII located in Asia
Dispersions & Pigments; Greater China & Functions Asia Pacific; South & East Asia, ASEAN & ANZ
Other changes
On April 1, 2017, Hartwig Michels (53), President, Regional Division Europe, Ludwigshafen, will take over as President, Petrochemicals, Ludwigshafen. He succeeds Dr. Rainer Diercks (60), who will retire effective March 31, 2017.
Dr. Markus Kramer (52), President, Dispersions & Pigments, BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters Ltd., Hong Kong, will succeed Michels effective April 1, 2017, as President, Regional Division Europe, Ludwigshafen.
Gops Pillay (48), President, Regional Division South & East Asia, BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters Ltd., Hong Kong, will take over as President Dispersions & Pigments, Hong Kong, effective March 1, 2017.
Dr. Andrea Frenzel (46), Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Ludwigshafen, will succeed Pillay effective March 1, 2017, as President, Regional Division South & East Asia, Hong Kong.
Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner (48), Senior Vice President, Performance Materials Europe, Ludwigshafen, will take over as President Nutrition & Health, Lampertheim, Germany, effective April 1, 2017. She succeeds Saori Dubourg (45), who the Supervisory Board of BASF SE today (December 15, 2016) appointed to the Board of Executive Directors effective May 13, 2017.
Dirk Bremm (43), Senior Vice President, Construction Chemicals Americas, Beachwood/Ohio, takes over as President Coatings, Münster, Germany, effective April 1, 2017. The current head of the division, Dr. Markus Kamieth (46), was today (December 15, 2016) appointed to the Board of Executive Directors effective May 13, 2017, by the Supervisory Board of BASF SE.
Wacker Polysilicon under new leadership
Dr. Tobias Brandis (45) is taking over as president of the WACKER POLYSILICON division effective January 1, 2017. He succeeds Ewald Schindlbeck who, effective the same date, is retiring after 33 years at the company. Brandis was previously Chief Financial Officer of the Group’s US subsidiary Wacker Chemical Corporation.
Dr. Tobias Brandis studied law in Heidelberg, Geneva and Tübingen before earning his doctorate at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich. As of 2000, he was an attorney at the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Düsseldorf and joined Wacker Chemie AG’s Legal department in 2007. Brandis took charge of the Corporate Development department in 2010 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Wacker Chemical Corporation in Adrian, Michigan (USA), in 2014.
WACKER POLYSILICON is a global leader in the production of hyperpure polysilicon. Its polysilicon – which is used in semiconductors and the growing photovoltaics sector – meets the extremely high quality standards required by customers in these application areas.
Dr. K.V. Kranthi named Head of the Technical Information Section of ICAC
The ICAC., the International Cotton Advisory Committee, its Standing Committee has approved the appointment of Dr. K.V. Kranthi as the next Head of the organisation’s Technical Information Section
Dr. Keshav Raj Kranthi is currently the Director of the Central Institute of Cotton Research in Nagpur, India. He has a PhD from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi. His main research interests are insect molecular biology, toxicology, ecology, immunology and biotechnology. He has patents granted in South Africa, Mexico, China and Uzbekistan, as well as six patent applications in India. He is the author of many publications on cotton and has received numerous awards, including the International Cotton Researcher of the Year Award, presented by the ICAC in 2009. Dr Kranthi will take office in April 2017, upon the retirement of the incumbent Head, Dr. Rafiq Chaudhry.