2020 medalist Christopher D. Pappas (Trinseo) also to be honored
PHILADELPHIA – February 22, 2021 – The Society of Chemical Industry, America Section (SCI America), announced today that the 2021 SCI Chemical Industry Medal will be awarded to Craig A. Rogerson, Chairman, President, and CEO of Hexion Inc. Mr. Rogerson will receive the award in an online celebratory event on March 9, 2021. This event will also honor the SCI 2020 Chemical Industry Medal winner Christopher D. Pappas, recently retired CEO of Trinseo. The 2020 medal ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic.
This evening will feature Governor John Kasich, who will give the keynote speech. Governor Kasich is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th Governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019.
The SCI Chemical Industry Medal honors an individual whose leadership, commitment, and contributions have been responsible for substantial progress and performance of the chemical industry. In addition to being an active guiding force in the leadership of their organization during periods of expansion, challenging conditions, or new directions, recipients are known for service rendered to the industry as a whole.
Craig Rogerson is Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer at Hexion Inc. Mr. Rogerson joined Hexion in July 2017. Prior to joining Hexion, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chemtura Corporation, a position he held from December 2008 until April 21, 2017. Mr. Rogerson also served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Hercules Incorporated from December 2003 until November 2008.
Mr. Rogerson joined Hercules in 1979 and served in a number of management positions before leaving the company to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wacker Silicones Corporation in 1997. In May 2000, Mr. Rogerson rejoined Hercules and was named President of its BetzDearborn Division in
August 2000. Prior to being named CEO of Hercules in December 2003, he held a variety of senior management positions with the company, including president of the FiberVisions and Pinova Divisions, vice president of Global Procurement, and Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Rogerson serves as independent board chair of PPL Corporation and on the boards of the American Chemistry Council, the Society of Chemical Industry, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and he is a former member of the Board of Directors of Ashland Global Holdings Inc.
In 2009, Mr. Rogerson was inducted into the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame, which recognizes business leaders who have positively impacted workforce and economic development in the region through their strategic management, entrepreneurship, invention or innovation. Mr. Rogerson was also named to the GAMCO Management Hall of Fame in 2009 for his leadership and contributions in enhancing shareholder value.
He holds a chemical engineering degree from Michigan State University. He serves on the advisory board of the Michigan State University Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Department and was recently appointed to the Michigan State University College of Engineering Alumni Board. In addition, the Craig A. Rogerson Endowed Professorship of Chemical Engineering at Michigan State University was established in 2016.
Christopher D. Pappas served as President and CEO of Trinseo from June 2010 through March 2019, playing a central role in the company’s formation in 2010 via spin-off from Dow Chemical, through its ownership by private equity with Bain Capital Partners, to an initial public offering and listing on the NYSE in 2014, followed by further expansion through acquisition and market-driven growth.
In 2018 Institutional Investor magazine ranked Pappas as the #1 CEO among mid-cap publicly traded chemical companies for 2018, based on voting from investors and sell-side research analysts. In 2017 Pappas received the Leadership Award for Outstanding Corporate Reinvention from the American Chemical Society’s New York Section for his visionary leadership, focus on safety and technology, financial discipline, and for Trinseo’s growth, in which the company more than tripled in value between 2014 and 2017. He was named to the list of “CEOs Who Get It” by the National Safety Council (NSC) and Safety+Health Magazine in 2017.
Mr. Pappas started his career at The Dow Chemical Company, where he gathered industry experience in a number of sales and managerial positions between 1978 and 1995. In 1995 he joined DuPont Dow Elastomers LLC where he held several leadership positions, initially as Vice President of Ethylene Elastomers and from 1999 onwards as Commercial Vice President. He joined NOVA Chemicals Corporation in 2000. At Nova, he assumed roles with increasingly global responsibilities, as Senior Vice President & President, Styrenics (2000-2006), Chief Operating Officer (2006-2008), President and Chief Operating Officer (2008-2009), and finally as President and CEO of NOVA in 2009.
Mr. Pappas is currently a member of the board of directors of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) and Univar, Inc. (NYSE: UNVR), and he is a former member of the board of directors of Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), Methanex Corp., NOVA Chemicals Corporation, and Allegheny Energy, Inc.
He was named to the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2015, and with his wife Susan is the sponsor of the Susan G. and Christopher D. Pappas Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Mr. Pappas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at The University of Pennsylvania.
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About the Chemical Industry Medal
The Chemical Industry Medal has been awarded by SCI America for more than 85 years. Presentation is made annually to a recipient selected by the Executive Committee of the America Section of the SCI. The Chemical Industry Medal is a testimonial to men and women whose leadership, foresight, and contributions to applied chemistry have been, to a considerable degree, responsible for the growth of that industry. The medal has attained distinction by reason of the outstanding achievements and caliber of those who have been honored. Past recipients include Steve Pryor, Sunil Kumar, Andrew N. Liveris, David N. Weidman, J. Brian Ferguson, Michael E. Campbell, and Jeffrey M. Lipton. For a complete list of winners, see SCI CIM winners.
About the Society of Chemical Industry
SCI America was founded in 1894 in New York City. It provides a unique networking forum for chemical industry leaders, industrial scientists, and technologists to exchange new business ideas and best practices. It celebrates achievements in industrial chemistry through three medal awards: The Perkin Medal, the Chemical Industry Medal, and the Gordon E. Moore Medal. The organization works to inspire students to enter technical careers by offering its members an opportunity to participate in an annual scholars program. SCI America also offers its members the opportunity to become part of its growing network by participating in its annual Innovation Day, where young industry leaders come together to celebrate innovation in the chemical industry and to seek solutions for tomorrow’s challenges.
By highlighting extraordinary individuals and their work, SCI America aims to promote public understanding of research and development in modern chemical industries, enhance the interest of students in applied chemistry by providing role models, and emphasize the role of creative research in the global economy. For more information, visit SCI America’s website: www.sci-america.org.
SCI America events are managed by the Science History Institute: sciencehistory.org.
Contacts:
Hexion Inc.
John Kompa, Vice President, Investor Relations and Public Affairs
614-284-3962 (mobile)
john.kompa@hexion.com