FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Contact:
- Erin Ennis (eennis@uschina.org, 202-429-0340)
USCBC Elects Dow Chemical Chairman & CEO Liveris as USCBC Chair,
Welcomes New Board Members, Officers
WASHINGTON, DC, June 4, 2008 - Andrew Liveris, chairman & CEO of The Dow Chemical Company, has been elected as new chairman of the US-China Business Council, USCBC President John Frisbie announced today. Liveris will serve for two years, according to Frisbie, who also outlined other new officers and directors of the organization.
Liveris leads the Midland, Michigan-based $54 billion chemical company. Dow has a long-standing and ever increasing presence in China. In country since the 1970s, Dow has significant investment plans -- to add to the existing 10 manufacturing sites and business centers. The company is already staffing and finalizing expansion of a world-class R&D center in Pudong -- a site which already employs over 600 scientists. Innovative investments include a coal-to-chemicals plant inland investment, which will turn abundant natural resources into value-add plastics and other chemical products. Dow has been recognized as one of China's top employers in a recent program co-organized by The Corporate Research Foundation (CRF) International and China's leading media including China Daily, Economic Observer, ChinaHR.com and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business as well as the Hay Group.
"The economic partnership between the United States and China has never been more important. I am honored to chair the US-China Business Council and see this as an opportunity to further develop a positive economic agenda between our two great nations," said Liveris. "The opportunities and challenges presented by China call for a policy of smart and expanded engagement, especially with a presidential election and transition coming up. USCBC is well-positioned to lead this effort."
In addition to the election of Liveris as USCBC chair, Frisbie also announced the following officers:
- As vice chairs, Muhtar Kent, president and chief operating officer, and incoming chief executive officer July 1, the Coca-Cola Company; and Edward L. Monser, chief operating officer, Emerson;
- As secretary-treasurer, Keith Williams, president and chief executive officer, Underwriters Laboratories Inc.; and
- As counsel, Andrew Shoyer, partner, Sidley Austin LLP.
Frisbie also welcomed the following new directors to the board:
- George Buckley, chairman, president, and CEO, 3M Company;
- Michael J. Dolan, senior vice president, Exxon Mobil Corporation;
- Michael Cannon, president, Global Operations, Dell Inc.;
- The Honorable Barbara Hackman Franklin, president and CEO, Barbara Franklin Enterprises; and
- John Rice, vice chairman of GE, president and CEO, GE Infrastructure, the General Electric Company.
The full list of directors can be found at http://www.uschina.org/board_of_directors.html.
USCBC President Frisbie said, "USCBC's Board of Directors continues to get stronger every year. Andrew Liveris and the new officers and directors bring great depth and experience to our efforts to ensure that the commercial relationship between the US and China continues to benefit both countries' economies and workers."
Liveris succeeds W. James McNerney, chairman, president, and CEO of The Boeing Company, as USCBC chair.
"I want to thank Jim McNerney for his leadership of USCBC over the past two years," Frisbie said. "I am delighted he will remain on our board as a director."
The US-China Business Council (USCBC, www.uschina.org) is the leading organization of US companies engaged in business with the People's Republic of China. Founded in 1973, the USCBC provides extensive China-focused information, advisory, and advocacy services, along with events, to nearly 250 US corporations operating within the United States and throughout Asia.