Chemours Names Mark Newman President and CEO

The Chemours Company announced a series of leadership transitions effective July 1, 2021.
Mark Newman, the company’s current COO, will become president and CEO of Chemours, succeeding Mark Vergnano, who has served as president and CEO since the company’s founding in 2015.

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. 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.

“This is a tremendously strong company that is poised for continued growth,” Newman said. “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.”

“Leading Chemours and its people since the company’s founding has been an absolute honor and privilege,” said Vergnano. “I am immensely proud of what we have achieved in establishing and then transforming ourselves into the solid company we are today. Building on our firm foundation, Chemours has a bright future with strong growth opportunities, and no one is better suited to lead us into this future than Mark Newman.”

“It has been an honor to be part of a new company the caliber of Chemours and serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for six years,” Brown noted. “As I reflect on this well thought out transition, I am confident that Mark Newman will lead the company effectively into its next phase of growth given his track record as a leader.”

Newman joined Chemours in 2014 as SVP and CFO. 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, Newman was appointed COO with responsibility over the company’s global commercial businesses. Throughout 2020, he also chaired the company’s Crisis Leadership Team which oversaw the company’s global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining Chemours, Newman was SVP and CFO 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 US and China, primarily with General Motors Corporation, where he began his career in 1986.

Vergnano began his career at DuPont in 1980 as a process engineer and held various leadership positions before being named the first president and CEO of Chemours prior to its establishment as an independent company in 2015. He is the past Chairman of the Board of the American Chemistry Council and Co-Chair of its Sustainability Committee. He is the past Chairman of the Board and member of the National Safety Council.

Farrell is a retired energy industry executive and the past president and CEO of TransAlta Corporation. She spent much of her 35-year career in various leadership positions with TransAlta and BC Hydro. She is a past member of the board of directors of the Business Council of Canada, Conference Board of Canada and Alberta Business Council.