Ashland And Dow Name New Managers

Ashland and Dow Chemical have named new managers to lead several key businesses resulting from their respective acquisitions???one complete and one pending???of Hercules and Rohm and Haas.

Ashland announced the $3.3 billion purchase of Hercules on July 11 and completed it on Nov. 13. The result is a company that would have had $10.7 billion in sales for the 12 months ending on Sept. 30. ???This is a landmark day for our combined employees, customers, shareholders, and all those with whom we interact,??? Ashland Chief Executive Officer James J. O???Brien says.

The new Ashland will have five divisions. Two of them, Ashland Hercules Water Technologies and Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingredients, will be led by former Hercules managers Paul C. Raymond III and John E. Panichella, respectively. Peter H. Rijneveldshoek will head Ashland Performance Materials, Samuel J. Mitchell will lead Ashland Consumer Markets, and Robert M. Craycraft will run Ashland Distribution.

Dow announced the $18.8 billion acquisition of Rohm and Haas on July 10. Although this much larger deal is not yet complete, CEO Andrew N. Liveris has already announced a structure for Rohm and Haas Advanced Materials, a new Dow division that will incorporate six specialized businesses from both companies.

???This new division, with its strong leadership, will represent the preeminent advanced materials solutions provider,??? Liveris says. It will be led by Pierre Brondeau, currently president and chief operating officer of Rohm and Haas.

Luis Fernandez, from Rohm and Haas, will head the division???s coatings group. Torsten Kraef, from Dow, will head building and construction. Philippe Raynaud de Fitte, from Dow, will head paper and textiles. Patrice Barthelmes, from Rohm and Haas, will head specialty packaging and films. Peter Davies, from Dow, will head designed polymers and separation technologies. And Yi Hyon Paik, from Rohm and Haas, will head electronics materials.