Rohm and Haas Chairman Raj Gupta has announced that Bradley J Bell, senior vice-president and chief financial officer, has advised he will resign from Rohm and Haas Company at the end of May. Jacques M Croisetiere, vice-president, regional director for Europe, and business director for process chemicals will be elected chief financial officer upon Bell’s departure.
Bell stated he has enjoyed more than a quarter-century of experience in financial management with three world-class manufacturing companies. ‘Rohm and Haas have provided me an extraordinary opportunity to participate in a transforming era for the chemical industry, as we reshaped the company’s business portfolio and structure. This company’s rich traditions of balancing the expectations of all stakeholders, their commitment to integrity and transparency in their affairs, and their collaborative leadership practices have given me a high standard to measure other organisations. The time simply has come to transfer this perspective and my own experiences into new or different career opportunities’, he said.
Croisetiere earned a degree in finance from the University of Montreal and began his career in finance with a division of Sara Lee. He joined Morton Salt as vice-president, finance, for their Canadian subsidiary in 1990. After a number of positions with increasing responsibility in finance, he moved into general management with responsibility for information technology, and later for the plastic additives and sealants business. He was named vice-president and business unit director of Ion Exchange Resins for Rohm and Haas in 1999, and became European regional director two years later.
Commenting on these changes, Gupta remarked: ‘In the six years, Brad has been with Rohm and Haas, it is hard for me to imagine anyone who has toiled harder or had a greater impact on our success. Brad has been a lot more than a CFO. He is a valued member of our executive council, and has held key roles in the successful execution and integration of Morton International and other acquisitions. He was an important contributor to our strategy to implement an Enterprise-wide SAP migration, and has led key aspects of the revisions to our Governance practices to meet the spirit and the letter of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and NYSE requirements’, Gupta added.
Transition of duties from Bell to Croisetiere will commence promptly and will continue through May. ‘We are fortunate to have a seasoned executive like Jacques with appropriate skills and experience ready to step into this important role. He is a multi-talented business executive with a distinguished track-record in many aspects of finance, information technology, business strategy and international leadership’, Gupta said.
