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Board of Directors

Avient Corporation’s board of directors is comprised of individuals of substantial accomplishment with demonstrated leadership capabilities. Each of our directors also has the following personal characteristics, which are required attributes for all board members: high ethical standards, integrity, judgment and an ability to devote sufficient time to the affairs of our Company. Our board members are:

     

     

Ashish Khandpur

 

Dr. Ashish K. Khandpur

President and Chief Executive Officer of Avient Corporation, a premier provider of specialized and sustainable material solutions and services, since December, 2023. Before joining Avient, Dr. Khandpur served as Group President of the Transportation & Electronics business group for 3M Company (“3M”), a global manufacturing and technology company from 2021 to 2023. During his 28-year career with 3M, Dr. Khandpur has held a series of roles with increasing responsibility, including Executive Vice President, Transportation & Electronics business group, from 2019 to 2021; Executive Vice President, Electronics & Energy business group, from 2017 to 2019; and Senior Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Technology Officer, from 2014 to 2017, among other roles. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Constellation Energy Corporation and on the Dean's Advisory Board for the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota.

   

      

       Robert Abernathy

 

 

Robert E. Abernathy

Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Halyard Health, Inc., a medical technology company that focuses on eliminating pain, speeding recovery, and preventing infection for healthcare providers and patients worldwide. Mr. Abernathy served as Chief Executive Officer of Halyard Health from its spinoff from Kimberly-Clark in October 2014 until his retirement in June 2017, during which time he also served as Chairman. He continued as Chairman until September 2017. Prior to that, he worked for Kimberly-Clark, a global personal care products company. He joined Kimberly-Clark in 1982 and served in numerous roles of increasing responsibility, including President, Global Healthcare from June 2014 until October 2014 and Executive Vice President, from November 2013 to June 2014.  He also serves on the board of Haemonetics Corporation.

   

       

       Richard Fearon

Richard H. Fearon

Non-Executive Chairman of our Board since 2023. Prior to serving as Board Chair, Mr. Fearon served as Lead Director of our Board from May 2015 to December 2023. Retired Chief Financial and Planning Officer and Vice Chairman of Eaton, a global manufacturing company.  Mr. Fearon served as Chief Financial and Planning Officer from 2002 to 2021 and as Vice Chairman from 2009 to 2021.  Prior to Eaton, Mr. Fearon worked at several large diversified companies, including Transamerica Corporation, NatSteel Limited and The Walt Disney Company. He also serves on the boards of Waters Corporation, Crown Holdings, Inc., CRH plc, and Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. VI and on the non-profit board of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

   

       

     Gregory Goff

Gregory J. Goff

Retired Executive Vice Chairman of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, a leading, integrated, downstream energy company. Mr. Goff served in this capacity from 2018 to 2019. Prior to Marathon’s acquisition of Andeavor (formerly Tesoro Corporation), Mr. Goff served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2010 to 2018, and as Chairman from December 2014 to 2018, of Andeavor, a leading company in the independent refining and marketing business. He also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Andeavor Logistics LP (formerly Tesoro Logistics LP), a NYSE-listed master limited partnership that owned, operated and developed crude oil and refined products and logistics assets, from April 2011 to 2018. Prior to joining Tesoro in 2010, Mr. Goff worked for ConocoPhillips Corporation, an integrated energy company, where he held a number of senior leadership positions, most recently Senior Vice President Commercial from 2008 to 2010.  He also serves on the boards of ExxonMobil and Enbridge Inc.

   

      

    Neil Green

Neil Green

Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Otis Worldwide Corporation, a global manufacturer of people moving products, since 2020.  From 2018 to 2020, Mr. Green served as Otis Worldwide’s Vice President, Transformation and Chief Digital Officer. Prior to joining Otis Worldwide, Mr. Green served as Vice President, Data Center Group at Intel Corporation, a semiconductor company, and as President, Intel Federal LLC, a subsidiary of Intel Corporation, from 2015 to 2018, and previously in various other roles of increasing responsibility at Intel Corporation.

   

      

    William Jellison

William R. Jellison

Retired Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Stryker Corporation, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies. Mr. Jellison served in this capacity from 2013 to 2016. Prior to joining Stryker, Mr. Jellison served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Dentsply International, the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products, from 1998 to 2013, except for a roughly two-year period of time between 2002 and 2005 when he was a Senior Vice President with full P&L responsibilities for some of Dentsply’s operating divisions located in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Mr. Jellison began his career with the Donnelly Corporation, a publicly traded international automotive parts supplier, where he served in several senior leadership roles, advancing to Vice President of Finance. Mr. Jellison is also currently a Senior Advisor for Astor Place Holdings, the Private Equity arm of Select Equities, and consults with other private equity and investment management firms in the medtech industry.  He also serves on the board of Young Innovations.

   

 

  Sandra Beach Lin

Sandra Beach Lin

Retired President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Calisolar, Inc. (now Silicor Materials Inc.), a solar silicon company. Ms. Lin served in this capacity from 2010 to 2011. She was Executive Vice President, then Corporate Executive Vice President, at Celanese Corporation, a global hybrid chemical company, from 2007 to 2010. Prior to Celanese, Ms. Lin held global senior executive positions at Avery Dennison Corporation, Alcoa and Honeywell International.  She also serves on the boards of American Electric Power Company, Inc., Trinseo S.A., Ripple Therapeutics, and Interface Biologics Inc.

   

 

 Kim Ann Mink

Kim Ann Mink

Former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innophos Holdings, Inc., a leading international producer of performance-critical and nutritional functional ingredients, with applications in food, health and industrial specialties markets. Dr. Mink served in this capacity from 2015 to 2020. Prior to joining Innophos, Dr. Mink served as Business President of Elastomers, Electrical and Telecommunications at the Dow Chemical Company, a specialty chemicals provider, from September 2012 to December 2015. She joined Dow in April 2009 as Global General Manager, Performance Materials and President and Chief Executive Officer of ANGUS Chemical Co. (then a fully-owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical). Prior to joining Dow, she was Corporate Vice President and Global General Manager, Ion Exchange Resins at the Rohm and Haas Company (now a fully-owned subsidiary of Dow), where she spent more than 20 years serving in numerous senior roles with increasing responsibilities.  She also serves on the boards of Eastman Chemical Company and Air Liquide.

   

 

  Ernest Nicolas

Ernest Nicolas

Chief Supply Chain Officer at HP Inc., a technology company with a product and services portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions, since 2022. Prior to joining HP Inc., Mr. Nicolas served as Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Rockwell Automation from 2020 to 2022, as Rockwell Automation’s Senior Vice President, Operations and Engineering Services from 2019 to 2020, as Vice President, Global Supply Chain from 2018 to 2019, and as Vice President, Strategic Sourcing and Supply Management from 2015 to 2018. He joined Rockwell in 2006 and held numerous positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to joining Rockwell Automation, Mr. Nicolas began his career at General Motors Company.

   

 

Kerry Preete

Kerry J. Preete

Retired Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer for Monsanto Company, a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Mr. Preete served in this capacity from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Preete was Monsanto Company’s President, Global Crop Protection Division from 2009 to 2010 and Vice President, International Commercial Business from 2008 to 2009. From 1985 to 2008, Mr. Preete served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Monsanto.  He also serves on the boards of Univar Solutions Inc. and Corteva, Inc.

   

 

Patricia Verduin

Patricia Verduin

Chief Technology Officer for Colgate-Palmolive Company, a leading consumer products manufacturer, since 2011. Dr. Verduin was Colgate-Palmolive Company’s Vice President, Research and Development from 2007 to 2011. Prior to joining Colgate-Palmolive, Dr. Verduin served as Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer, Grocery Manufacturers Association from 2006 to 2007, as Senior Vice President of Product Quality and Development, ConAgra Foods, Inc. (now Conagra Brands, Inc.) from 2002 to 2006, and as Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Grocery Products Development, ConAgra Foods, Inc. from 2000 to 2002.

   

 

William Wulfsohn

William A. Wulfsohn

Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ashland Global Holdings Inc., a global leader in providing specialty chemical solutions to customers in a wide range of customer and industrial markets. Mr. Wulfsohn served in this capacity from 2015 to 2019. He was also a Director and Non-Executive Chairman of Valvoline Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Ashland Global Holdings and a leading worldwide producer and distributer of premium-branded automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants and automotive chemicals, from September 2016 until January 2018. From July 2010 until December 2014, Mr. Wulfsohn was President and Chief Executive Officer of Carpenter Technology Corporation, a manufacturer of stainless steel, titanium and other specialty metals and engineered products, and was a director of Carpenter from April 2009 until December 2014.  He also serves on the board of Anzu Special Acquisition Corp I.

 

Current Committee Membership

= Member =Chairperson

 

Independent directors   Audit Compensation Environmental,
Health & Safety
Governance & Corporate Responsibility
Robert E. Abernathy      
Richard H. Fearon      
Neil Green   Member     Member
Gregory J. Goff      
William R. Jellison      
Sandra Beach Lin      
Kim Ann Mink      
Ernest Nicolas     Member Member  
Kerry J. Preete      
Patricia Verduin      
William A. Wulfsohn