Midland, MI - July 08, 2005
William F. Banholzer has been appointed corporate vice president and chief technology officer of The Dow Chemical Company, it was announced today by Andrew N. Liveris, Dow’s president and chief executive officer. He will assume his new role on July 14.
Reporting to Liveris, Banholzer will join the Office of the Chief Executive and will lead Dow’s research and development activities across the globe, with direct responsibility for the Company’s existing R&D Council.
Banholzer joins Dow from General Electric Company, where he was vice president of global technology at GE Advanced Materials, responsible for worldwide technology and engineering. He will relocate from Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Midland, Michigan.
Commenting on the selection, Liveris said, "I am extremely excited about this appointment – Bill’s strong scientific credentials, his remarkable energy, his keen commercial awareness and his proven leadership abilities bring an exhilarating new dimension to our world-class R&D organization.
"Innovation is the lifeblood of our industry, it is Dow’s heritage and it remains at the very heart of the Company’s growth strategy. In Bill, we have a leader whose passion for innovation, sharp market focus and ability to energize global teams can raise the R&D game for Dow, taking us to a new level of performance in the science and technology arena. He will be a tremendous asset to the Company, to the R&D function and to my leadership team as we accelerate Dow’s strategic agenda through the years ahead."
In 2002, Banholzer was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest distinctions that can be accorded an engineer. He is one of only 177 chemical engineers worldwide to have been elected to the prestigious institution, which honors those who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice" or demonstrated "unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology."
Banholzer joined GE in 1983 as a staff chemical engineer in the company’s Corporate Research and Development Laboratory. In 1989, he led the R&D Center's chemical vapor deposition material program and later was promoted to laboratory manager for Advanced Inorganic Materials. In 1992, Banholzer transferred to GE's Superabrasives business, where he held numerous management positions culminating in responsibility for the division's worldwide engineering and quality efforts. Banholzer was named a company officer and moved to GE Lighting as vice president of Global Engineering in 1997. He assumed his current role with GE Advanced Materials two years later, leading a worldwide team responsible for process and product engineering, new capacity technology and product quality initiatives.
Banholzer graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and subsequently earned a master's degree and a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois.
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
For Editorial Information:
Chris Huntley
The Dow Chemical Company
Midland, MI 48674
+1 989-636-2876
