Anthony O’Donovan named as new president, CEO of Arkema Inc.

Anthony O’Donovan. Photo Credit: Arkema Inc.

Specialty material supplier Arkema Inc. has named Anthony O’Donovan CEO and president, succeeding Richard Rowe, who has retired.

In this role, O’Donovan will oversee Arkema activities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. In addition, he will be the regional head of Arkema Group in North America.

In a news release, officials with Arkema – which is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa. – said that O’Donovan has held a range of manufacturing, supply chain and business leadership roles for Degussa Specialty Chemicals in South Africa and for FMC in Canada and the U.S.

O’Donovan joined Arkema Inc. in 2013 as global supply chain director for fluorochemicals. Most recently, he served as regional group president for Arkema’s fluorochemicals business in the Americas. He holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D., both in Chemical Engineering, from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

“I’m excited to take on this role at such an exciting time for Arkema,” said O’Donovan. “Arkema Group has transformed itself since its creation a decade and a half ago, becoming a global leader in specialty materials with a focus on offering the most innovative and sustainable solutions to meet our customers’ needs, today and tomorrow. We are well on track to achieve our goal to become a pure specialty materials company by 2024.”

Arkema Group subsidiaries in North America employ approximately 4,000 people, operate 40 industrial sites, and represented 33 per cent of group sales in 2020.