The Chemours Company (Wilmington, Del.) has announces a series of leadership transitions effective July 1, 2021. Mark Newman, the company’s current Chief Operating Officer, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of Chemours, succeeding Mark Vergnano, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since the company’s founding in 2015. Mr. Vergnano will be retiring from the company and assume the position of non-executive Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors for the balance of 2021, assuring an effective transition of leadership to Mr. Newman. In this role he succeeds Richard H. Brown, current Chairman of the Board, who has announced his intention to retire after leading the Board of Directors for the last six years. With these changes, Dawn Farrell, who has served on the Board of Directors since the company’s founding and is a member of the Audit Committee and Compensation Committee, will become the company’s Lead Independent Director.
“I am honored and excited by the opportunity to lead Chemours,” commented Mr. Newman. “This is a tremendously strong company that is poised for continued growth. We have an unparalleled workforce of 6,500 people who are committed to responsibly meeting the demands of our changing world with our chemistry and products that enable modern life. This exciting moment would not have been possible without the hard work of our people, the collaborative relationships that we have with our customers, and the leadership of Mark Vergnano. I have worked beside Mark for the last six years, and I personally understand how significant his contributions have been. His dedicated leadership of the business and the passion with which he lives our Chemours values provide an example for all of us. I am delighted that Mark will remain part of Chemours and look forward to working with him as Board Chairman.”
Mark Newman joined Chemours in 2014 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He was instrumental in the launch of Chemours as a stand-alone, publicly traded company and helped transform a portfolio of businesses into a focused and profitable company. In 2019, Mr. Newman was appointed Chief Operating Officer with responsibility over the company’s global commercial businesses.
He oversaw the recent evolution of the former Fluoroproducts business into two reportable segments: Thermal & Specialized Solutions and Advanced Performance Materials. Throughout 2020, he also chaired the company’s Crisis Leadership Team which oversaw the company’s global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Newman is the executive sponsor of the Chemours Diversity and Inclusion Council, the group charged with improving the company’s overall inclusion and diversity approach to talent acquisition and development, company culture, and community engagement. Prior to joining Chemours, Mr. Newman was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SunCoke Energy, where he oversaw strategy, business development, and information technology. He also served in a number of senior operating and finance leadership roles in the United States and China, primarily with General Motors Corporation, where he began his career in 1986. Mr. Newman received his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and earned his Master of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.