For a retired guy, former Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig is certainly keeping busy, and his plate just got a new helping thanks to his long time board role at Dow Chemical Company. Now known as DowDuPont, Fettig — who is still Chairman of the Board at Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor — has been named non-employee Executive Chairman of the Board of DowDuPont.
The announcement this week stems from the transition of current Executive Chairman Andrew Liveris who will retire as the Material Science Division of DowDuPont progresses on its succession process.
Leveris informed the Dow board that he will no longer serve as Executive Chairman effective April 1st, and will be replaced by Fettig who is currently co-Lead Independent Director for the Midland-based chemical giant. Liveris will continue as a director of DowDuPont through his previously announced retirement from the company effective July 1st of 2018.
Fettig says, “On behalf of the Board, we want to thank Andrew for his outstanding leadership and vision. Dow has achieved record operating results and shareholder value under Andrew’s leadership, which continues as part of the DowDuPont merger.” He adds, “Andrew is truly a global CEO in every sense of the term, and his leadership not only at Dow, but across the entire business community, will be felt for decades.”
Fettig went on to not that, “Since joining the Board of Dow, it has been a privilege to work alongside Andrew and the rest of the Board, as we developed and executed against Dow’s market-driven strategy. I look forward to continuing to work with the entire DowDuPont Board to implement the intended separation of DowDuPont into three focused and industry-leading businesses.”
For his part, Liveris says, “Over the past 14 years, we have transformed Dow from a cyclical chemicals manufacturing company into one powered by science, driven by innovation and delivering solutions to the world. We have aggressively invested in R&D and radically transformed our portfolio of businesses while proudly maintaining our commitment to our heritage and values.” Regarding his retirement, Liveris says, “With that transformation complete and Dow entering into its next phase of growth, now is the right time for me to effect my previously announced plan to transition and then to retire.”
In addition to his successful leadership at Dow, the 63 year old Liveris has been an international advocate for the criticality of manufacturing to the long-term health of national economies. He is the author of “Make It in America,” a book which presents a comprehensive set of practical policy solutions and business strategies to achieve the company’s vision of an advanced manufacturing economy.
Fettig retired as CEO of Whirlpool last October, replaced by new CEO Marc Bitzer, but remains as Chairman of the Whirlpool Board, a post he has held for 14 years. The photo accompanying this story at Moody on the Market.com shows Bitzer (l) and Fettig (r) at the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to his role at DowDuPont, Fettig is also a member of the Board of Directors of Kohler Corporation. He has been on the Dow board for 15 years, dating back to 2003, and is a member and past chairman of the Business Leaders for Michigan business roundtable.
