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Jim Fitterling
Fitterling in 2021
Born
James Ray Fitterling

1962 (age 61–62)
Missouri, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Missouri, Columbia (BS)
Occupation(s)Chairman and CEO of Dow Inc.

James Ray Fitterling (born 1962) is an American business executive. He is the chairman and CEO of Dow Inc.,[1] Fitterling is vice chair of the National Association of Manufacturers, and on the boards of the American Chemistry Council and the U.S.-China Business Council.[2] The first board-appointed out CEO of a Fortune 100 company;[3] he was ranked the world's top LGBT executive by the Financial Times in 2018.[4]

Early life and education

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Jim Fitterling was born in 1962[5] in Missouri, where he spent his youth in a small farm town.[6] He attended the University of Missouri,[7] graduating from the school's College of Engineering in 1983 with a BS in mechanical engineering.[8]

Career

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1984-2004: Early roles with Dow

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In 1984, Fitterling was hired by The Dow Chemical Company.[1] In 1998, he became CEO of Filmtec Corporation, a subsidiary of Dow.[9] Also in 1998, he became global business director of Dow's liquid separations unit.[7] He was named both general manager of Dow Thailand and managing director of the SCC - Dow Group of joint venture companies in 2000.[9] In 2002, Fitterling became CEO of The OPTIMAL Group, an affiliate company of both Dow and Petroliam Nasional Berhad. He began overseeing OPTIMAL's regions in Southeast Asia and Australia in 2004.[9]

2005-2015: Dow executive roles

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He left OPTIMAL Group in 2005 to become business vice president of polyethylene at Dow Chemical Corporation. He then was Dow's president of basic plastics from 2007 until 2009.[9] Soon, Fitterling was also a member of several committees at Dow, including the Executive Leadership Committee, the Management Committee and the Strategy Board.[9]

In 2012, Fitterling was given "executive oversight of feedstocks, performance plastics in Asia and Latin America." While still an executive vice president, in November 2012, Fitterling was appointed a member of Dow's newly formed executive committee.[8] In 2014, Fitterling became vice chairman of business operations for Dow.[7] In October 2015, he was named chief operating officer of Dow, which announced its merger with DuPont in December 2015.[10] Fitterling then worked with Dow's CEO on reforming the new company into three separate entities,[11] and to later be COO of the new Dow company.[12]

2016-2019: Dow president and CEO

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On February 2, 2016, Dow Chemical announced that Fitterling would be replacing Andrew Liveris as Dow president upon Liveris' retirement in 2017.[13] In 2016, he was named Dow's president and chief operating officer,[14] positions he still held into 2017.[15] From September 2017 to March 2019, Fitterling also was COO of the materials science division of DowDuPont.[16]

On March 12, 2018, he was named the CEO of the new Dow Inc.,[17][18][19][20][21][22] which was split, on April 1, 2019, from DowDuPont, as the new parent company of The Dow Chemical Company.[23] In 2019, he became the first openly gay CEO of a large industrial company[1] and the first board-appointed out CEO of a Fortune 100 company.[3]

Appearances and awards

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Fitterling has appeared in the media[24] as a Dow representative. He was the keynote speaker at the 2015 Manufacturing Leadership Summit,[25] and has spoken at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference in Houston, Texas.[26] In 2017, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) awarded him the “Doing a World of Good” Medal.[2] In 2018, he was given the College of Engineering Alumni Award from the Mizzou Alumni Association.[27][2]

Following a bout with cancer[28] in celebration of National Coming Out Day, in 2014 Fitterling came out to Dow's employees.[29] He is an advocate for diversity in corporate and educational settings and, in 2016, was quoted by The Wall Street Journal on Dow's public campaign against anti-gay rights legislation in states such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia.[24] Fitterling was ranked #73 on the Top 100 LGBT Leaders list published by The Financial Times in 2015,[30] ranking #28 the following year,[31] #1 in 2018,[4] and #3 in 2019.[3] In March 2019, he was featured in the Bloomberg Businessweek article "How Dow Chemical Got Woke".[32]

Boards

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Fitterling is vice chair of the National Association of Manufacturers' board, as well as on the boards of the American Chemistry Council and the U.S.-China Business Council. He is a trustee at the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation. He is also on the CEO Roundtable of the American Heart Association, and on the Dean's Engineering Advisory Council at the University of Missouri.[2] Fitterling was previously chairman at Univation Technologies LLC and on the boards of TCF Financial Corporation[9] and Sadara Chemical Company.[7][16] He was also president of the board of the Midland Country Club in Michigan.[9]

Personal life

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Fitterling is a resident of Midland, Michigan.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "5 Things to Know About Dow's New Openly-Gay CEO Jim Fitterling". Fortune. March 12, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Jim Fitterling".
  3. ^ a b c "Dow Leaders Achieve Top Honors on OUTstanding's 2019 Leading LGBT+ Professionals Lists".
  4. ^ a b "The Outstanding Lists 2018: LGBT+ leaders and allies", The Financial Times, October 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "Dow, DuPont CEOs could earn $80 million after merger". USA Today. March 3, 2016.
  6. ^ Jan Wiese-Fales (December 19, 2016). "Dow Chemical president, MAE alumnus delivers commencement address". College of Engineering - University of Missouri. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d Slavka Atanasova (January 5, 2016). "Sadara appoints Dow's Fitterling to board". Arabian Oil and Gas. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Alumni Notes". University of Missouri. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "James R. Fitterling Named to Chemical Financial Corporation Board of Directors". Globe Newswire. July 21, 2010.
  10. ^ "DuPont Deal Could Offer Relief for Embattled Dow CEO". Fortune. December 9, 2015.
  11. ^ Robert Wright (February 2, 2016). "Liveris to leave Dow Chemical by mid-2017". Financial Times.
  12. ^ Ludwig Burger (October 19, 2016). "Dow executive vows new materials group will pack research punch". Reuters.
  13. ^ Jeff Mordock (February 4, 2016). "Leadership changes during Dow-DuPont merger". USA Today.
  14. ^ Kate Carlson (December 12, 2017). "Dow executive awarded for advancing safety, diversity". Midland Daily News.
  15. ^ "Dow Chemical completes construction on another Freeport project". Houston Business Journal. January 6, 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Jim Fitterling". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  17. ^ "Dow Chemical's Andrew Liveris to Depart; Jim Fitterling to Be CEO of New Dow After Breakup". The Wall Street Journal. March 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  18. ^ Andrew Noel. "DowDuPont's Andrew Liveris makes way for Jim Fitterling as new Dow CEO". LiveMint.
  19. ^ "Liveris to retire from DowDuPont; Fitterling, Ungerleider to take on leadership roles with Dow". Midland Daily News. March 12, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  20. ^ "DowDuPont Names New Openly Gay CEO". Fortune. March 12, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Kurt Nagl (March 12, 2018). "DowDuPont names leadership for new Dow Material Science Division". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  22. ^ Olivia Pulsinelli (March 12, 2018). "DowDuPont Chairman Liveris to step down; CEO of new Dow named". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  23. ^ "Company Overview of Dow Inc.", Bloomberg, April 2, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Rachel Emma Silverman (April 17, 2016). "Big Business Speaks Up on Social Issues". The Wall Street Journal.
  25. ^ "Dow Chemical Co. named Manufacturer of the Year". Midland Daily News. June 11, 2015.
  26. ^ Suzanne Edwards (March 17, 2016). "Dow COO: Auto and petrochemical industries are closer than ever before". Houston Business Journal.
  27. ^ "Alumni and faculty honored by Mizzou Alumni Association | News Bureau, University of Missouri".
  28. ^ Charlsie Dewey (April 28, 2017). "Area business leaders make case for LGBT inclusion". Grand Rapids Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  29. ^ "Financial Times recognizes Dow's LGBT workplace equality". Midland Daily News. October 29, 2015.
  30. ^ "Champions come in many stripes". Financial Times. October 20, 2015.
  31. ^ Gloria Cheung (October 24, 2016). "Hong Kong lesbian who shunned $65m man tops our LGBT ranking". The Financial Times.
  32. ^ "How Dow Chemical Got Woke", by Jeff Green, Bloomberg Businessweek, March 20, 2019.
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