Liveris to Step Down as DowDuPont’s Executive Chairman

Andrew Liveris will step down as executive chairman of DowDuPont in April, less than a year after completing a merger that created what is now one of the world’s largest chemicals companies, DowDuPont said Monday.

The merger of DowDuPont — combining the inventor of Kevlar in DuPont and a giant maker of plastics and chemicals in Dow — was announced in December 2015 and took more than a year to complete. But the combined business is set to split next year into three companies based around its materials sciences, agriculture and specialty products divisions. The company agreed to revise its breakup plan in 2017 after pressure from shareholders.

Liveris, 63, had previously said that he would most likely leave the company this year. He is set to relinquish the role of executive chairman April 1 and step down from the company’s board in July.

After the departure of Liveris, Jeff Fettig, the company’s co-lead independent director, will assume the role as a nonemployee executive chairman.

“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,” Liveris said in a news release.

A veteran of Dow Chemical, Liveris had led the company as chief executive since 2004 and long sought a large deal to strengthen it. He served on a manufacturing advisory council to President Donald Trump until those councils were dissolved in 2017.

“On behalf of the board, we want to thank Andrew for his outstanding leadership and vision,” Fettig said. “Dow has achieved record operating results and shareholder value under Andrew’s leadership, which continues as part of the DowDuPont merger.”

On Monday, DowDuPont also announced the leadership for its materials science division, which will be called Dow when it separates in early 2019.

Jim Fitterling, who serves as chief operating officer for the unit, will become chief executive, and Howard Ungerleider, the chief financial officer of DowDuPont, is to serve as president and chief financial officer of the business.