Praxair Board Elects Reilley President and CEO
The board of directors of Praxair, Inc. has elected Dennis H. Reilley, formerly executive vice president and chief operating officer of DuPont Co., to the position of president, chief executive officer and a director of Praxair. The board decision was announced today by H. William Lichtenberger, currently chairman and chief executive officer of Praxair.
Reilley, 46, will succeed Lichtenberger as chief executive officer, effective March 15. Lichtenberger, 64, will remain chairman of Praxair until his retirement in November this year. At that time, Reilley will assume the additional title of chairman.
"We are very pleased that Dennis will be joining Praxair and we welcome his broad experience in the oil and chemical industries," Lichtenberger said.
"Praxair has made tremendous progress since its spinoff in 1992 in its ability to better serve its customers while improving its profitability, " Lichtenberger added. "I expect Dennis to continue this progress and to take it to the next level as we enter the 21st century. He is a talented leader whose skills and business acumen will be vital in implementing Praxair's growth strategy as well as focusing on developing new services for our customers and capitalizing on the rapidly expanding e-commerce opportunities in our industry."
"Leaving DuPont was not a decision I took lightly," Reilley said. "But Praxair is a leader in the industrial gases industry and this represents an outstanding opportunity for me to work with and help lead a group of highly talented people in making Praxair even more successful in the future."
Reilley joined DuPont's former energy subsidiary, Conoco, in 1974 and served in a wide range of management positions before being named general manager of planning and administration for North American Marketing in 1983. He became vice president of operations for Kayo Oil Company in Chattanooga in 1984 and was named president and managing director of Conoco-Ireland in Dublin in 1987.
Reilley transferred to DuPont's Chemicals and Specialties business in 1989 and held a series of senior management positions including vice president and general manager of Specialty Chemicals. He was appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer with responsibility for Pigments and Chemicals, Specialty Polymers, Nylon and Polyester in May 1999.
A native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Reilley received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Oklahoma State University in 1975. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development. He is a member of the board of Entergy Corporation and is vice chairman of the Chemical Manufacturers Association.
Lichtenberger became chairman and chief executive officer of Praxair in 1992 when it was spun off from Union Carbide Corporation as an independent public company. He joined Union Carbide in 1959 as a research engineer for its industrial gases division and held increasingly responsible engineering and management positions until he was appointed vice president and general manager of the European industrial gases businesses, based in Switzerland. He returned to the U.S. in 1980 as a vice president in the industrial gases division.
Lichtenberger was appointed president of Union Carbide's Solvents and Coatings Materials Division in 1985 and a year later became president of the Chemicals and Plastics business group. In 1990, he became president and chief operating officer of the corporation. Lichtenberger is a member of the boards of Arch Chemicals, Inc. and Ingersoll-Rand. He is also a director of the National Association of Manufacturers, the Business Roundtable and the Chemical Manufacturers Association.
Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide, with 1999 sales of $4.6 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair is a recognized leader in the commercialization of new technologies that bring productivity and environmental benefits to a diverse group of industries.