Celanese Corporation just announced that Mark
Rohr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will assume the position of
Executive Chairman of Celanese’s Board of Directors. After an extensive search,
the Board has selected Lori Ryerkerk to succeed Rohr as CEO. The appointments will
be effective on May 1, 2019, and
at that time Ryerkerk will also join Celanese’s Board.
In Rohr’s Executive Chairman role, he will
remain focused on guiding the strategic options to unlock value for Celanese
shareholders and overseeing the achievement of the company’s 2020 growth
strategy, while working closely with Ryerkerk to ensure a seamless CEO
transition.
Ryerkerk is an accomplished global
executive, bringing to Celanese an impressive track record of creating value at
large international corporations. Throughout her 35-year career, she has held a
variety of senior leadership roles at petrochemicals and refining businesses in
the United States, Europe and Asia. Ryerkerk most recently served as Executive
Vice President of Global Manufacturing of Royal Dutch Shell. She earned a
B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University.
“Lori’s extensive
experience in leading global operations and managing some of the most complex
technologies, engineering and supply chain systems in the world complement the
opportunities before us to advance our rapid growth and continue our global
expansion to satisfy our business objectives. I welcome Lori to the team and
look forward to working closely with her to execute on our growth strategy,”
said Rohr.
“I am very excited to join
the Celanese team and get to know and work with all of its employees,” said
Ryerkerk. “Mark and the team have built a tremendous company culture and I will
be building on the company’s strong performance momentum and continuing to
drive growth and shareholder value.”