 |
Speaker:
Sunil Kumar,
Managing Principal, Wembly Enterprises
and former CEO of ISP |
Moderator: Peter Young, President and Managing Director, Young & Partners
Becoming and succeeding as the CEO of a chemical company has become increasingly challenging as the industry has matured, competition has become more global, financial issues and shareholder value have become more prominent, and the world faces increasing geopolitical and economic stresses. Although there are clearly differences in what it is like to be in different segments of the chemical industry, our speaker has had a breadth of experience across a number of chemical and materials businesses and will share some of his perspectives about how one rises to the top and succeeds at the top in the modern chemical industry environment.
Peter Young, President of Young & Partners, the chemicals and life science investment bank and President of Societe de Chimie Industrielle, will interview Sunil Kumar and talk about how he became a President and CEO of a number of traditional companies, how the job of CEO has changed over the years from his own experience, some of the keys to his success as a CEO of ISP when it was a public company and a private company, and what he sees as the lessons for those who are already CEOs of their companies and those who aspire to become CEOs in the current environment.
About our Speaker:
Sunil is currently Managing Principal of Wembly Enterprises which owns and operates niche chemical and manufacturing businesses. Wembly currently owns Universal Plastics, Nylon Corporation of America, Shawsheen Coating Company, and Bradford Industries.
He was CEO, President and Board Member of International Specialty Product (ISP) from 1999 to 2011, when ISP was acquired by Ashland, Inc. for $3.2 billion when it has sale of $2.1B and EBITDA of $410 million. ISP chemicals are used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and several industrial uses. During his tenure as CEO, he grew the company dramatically and annual profit increased at an annual growth rate of 11%. In addition, he converted ISP from a NYSE public company to a private company in 2003.
Prior to coming to ISP, Sunil was President and Chief Executive Officer of GAF Materials Corporation ($3B sales), which is the world’s largest manufacturer of roofing products for residential and commercial buildings. At GAF, he expanded sales from $600 million and EBITDA of $60 million to 1999 Sales of $1.0 Billion and EBITDA of $150 million. Before coming to GAF, Sunil was Executive Vice President and a Member of the Board of Bridgestone/Firestone, and was responsible for Bridgestone/Firestone’s North American tires and auto services business and also ran their building products business.
Sunil Kumar was a Board Member of the American Chemistry Council from 1999 to 2011 period, the Chairman of the Society of Chemical Industry from 2009 to 2010, and the President of the Société de Chimie Industrielle from 2008 to 2010. He was also the recipient of the 2014 Society of Chemical Industry Medal for his achievements.
A native of New Delhi, India, Sunil holds a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from the IIT, and an MBA from University of Louisiana.
This webinar is available free of charge to both members and non-members. If you register, we will send you a link prior to the broadcast so that you can watch the broadcast and hear the speaker’s speech and the fireside chat and Q&A at the end.