Jim McIlvenny Senior Vice President of The Dow Chemical Company, Chairman of Dow Sadara Project Office

Jim McIlvenny is a Senior Vice President of The Dow Chemical Company and Chairman of the Dow Sadara Project Office. McIlvenny is responsible for leading Dow's key, large-scale investments designed to meet the growth opportunities of tomorrow, and to enhance the long-term profitability of Dow.

McIlvenny joined Dow in Australia in 1982, and has since held a number of positions in Chemical and Performance Products in the areas of technical service, sales, marketing, and business leadership. He has travelled extensively and has taken on business assignments in Australia, Japan, China and Michigan and Massachusetts in the U.S.  In 1998, McIlvenny was named President and CEO of Hampshire Chemical Corporation, Dow’s wholly-owned subsidiary.  McIlvenny was Business Vice President of Specialty Polymers before moving to China.

Named President of Dow Greater China in 2004, McIlvenny became President of Dow Asia Pacific with broadened regional responsibilities in 2006, and in May 2009, was named Senior Vice President of Emerging Economies.   During this time, McIlvenny was based in Shanghai, China and played a leading role in driving the expansion of Dow in Asia Pacific with focus on organizational development, customer relationship and building assets.  Under his leadership, the company established the headquarters of Dow Greater China in Shanghai, and also developed the Shanghai Dow Center which has become a major business and R&D hub for Dow in Asia Pacific.

McIlvenny has been an active contributor in the development of a sustainable chemical industry in Asia Pacific through participation in leading sustainability organizations and development of joint partnerships in sustainable chemistry with governments and NGOs in Asia. He served as a board member of Junior Achievement, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about entrepreneurship, as well as a corporate advisory board member of China Europe International Business School.

In September 2009, he was named Senior Vice President for Performance Products, and had overall responsibility for a division that accounted for US$13 billion in sales. The businesses within this global division covered an extensive range of products for household, transportation, coating and personal care markets.  McIlvenny was named Group Senior Vice President of Mega Projects in August 2010 and accepted his current role in September 2011.

McIlvenny graduated from the University of Sydney with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering. He is married with 3 children who are currently attending universities.

Revised: 9/28/2011