Vergnano to Receive AIChE Government and Industry Leaders Award

Mark P. Vergnano, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Chemours Company, a U.S.-based global chemical firm, will receive the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) Government and Industry Leaders (AGILE) Award. The award is given by AIChE to leaders who have made significant contributions to the chemical engineering profession and whose innovations have made a significant impact within the industries that employ chemical engineers. In connection with the AGILE Award, Vergnano will deliver the welcoming Keynote Address at AIChE’s 2018 Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety in Orlando, Florida.

The meeting, to be held at the Orlando World Center Marriott from April 22 to 26, will consists of more than 200 sessions covering a spectrum technical topics of interested to practicing chemical engineers, with a special emphasis on developments in manufacturing, energy, particle technology, and chemical process safety. Nearly 2,500 practitioners and company leaders from around the world are expected to participate.

Vergnano kicks off the engineering conference with a talk entitled “Building a Winning Culture: Harnessing the Power of Values” on Monday morning, April 23. In his address, Vergnano will discuss the challenges that Chemours faced when it spun off from DuPont in 2015, and how a focus on core values — including “safety obsession” — has made Chemours a fast success. At the conclusion of his presentation, Vergnano will receive the AGILE Award in recognition of his successes at Chemours.

In announcing Vergnano’s selection as the AGILE Award recipient, June Wispelwey, AIChE’s Executive Director, praised Vergnano’s leadership at Chemours, specifically acknowledging his personal commitment to industrial safety. “The remarkable and rapid success of Chemours is a testament to Mark Vergnano’s inspirational leadership, as demonstrated by the integrity, customer-focus, and dedication to safe practices that he imparts to his employees,” said Wispelwey. “Mark’s leadership style embodies many of the talents that AIChE seeks in an AGILE Award honoree, and we are honored to have him as our 2018 Spring Meeting keynote speaker.”

Vergnano was named the first CEO of The Chemours Company prior to its spinoff from DuPont. He had first joined DuPont in 1980 as a process engineer in the company’s fibers business, and went on to serve DuPont in a variety of leadership roles over the next 35 years, culminating in his appointment as executive vice president in October 2009.

At Chemours, Vergnano is building a culture in which employees at all levels are free to contribute ideas for improving the company and upholding its corporate values, with safety being a key value and personal passion of Vergnano. As an expression of that commitment, he has served on the board of the U.S. National Safety Council (NSC) for the past seven years, and, in 2017, became chair of the NSC Board of Directors.

Vergnano also serves on the board of directors for the American Chemistry Council and Johnson Controls International, and is on the executive committee of the Society of Chemical Industry. He is also a member of the University of Connecticut School of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Engineers and Hall of Fame. He received his BS in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University.

For more information about AIChE’s Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety, visit http://www.aiche.org/spring.