William F. Banholzer Chief Technology Officer, New Business Development and Executive Vice President

Banholzer is an Executive Vice President leading Dow’s Venture Capital, New Business Development, and Licensing activities, and is also Dow’s Chief Technology Officer. Banholzer chairs the Innovation and New Business Development Committee which oversees investments in new technologies and major business initiatives. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors for the Dow Corning Corporation, serving on the Corporate Responsibility Committee. Banholzer also serves on the Dow AgroScience’s Members Committee and the Dow Foundation Board of Directors.

Banholzer manages a portfolio of research programs with an annual budget of $1.7B. He sets the vision for science and technology at Dow and leads the execution of that vision. Under his leadership the value of Dow’s innovation pipeline has tripled from $10B to over $32B. Banholzer’s efforts to accelerate Dow’s technology development were recognized by R&D Magazine, where Dow was ranked in the top ten for R&D in all industries, and a recent Booz Allen study ranked Dow’s innovation portfolio management as “Best in Class.” Banholzer also received the Industrial Research Institute’s Holland Award for R&D management and the Council of Chemical Research’s Pruitt Award for his innovative approach to research collaborations.

Banholzer has a strong history of technical excellence and innovation, spanning his more than 25 years of industrial experience. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2002, a reflection of the significance of his technical contributions. He has been an active NAE member, one of only 175 members of the Chemical Engineering section. In 2006 he was elected by the Academy membership to serve a 3 year term as one of 12 councillors comprising the governing body of the NAE. Banholzer currently serves on the Board on Energy and Environmental Sciences. He also serves on the advisory board for chemistry and chemical engineering at UC Berkeley, the Chemical Engineering Advisory Board at University of Wisconsin, the American Chemical Society President’s Commission on Chemical Education, and the MIT Visiting Committee on Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Banholzer had a 22-year career with General Electric Company (GE) prior to joining Dow. He left GE as vice president of Global Technology at GE Advanced Materials, where he was responsible for worldwide technology and engineering. He joined GE in 1983 as a staff chemical engineer in the company’s Corporate Research and Development Laboratory where he held several leadership positions prior to joining the Superabrasive business. Banholzer was elected a company officer and moved to GE Lighting as vice president of Global Engineering in 1997. He transferred to GE’s Advanced Materials business as the vice president of global technology in 1999. During his GE career, Banholzer was honored with GE’s Bronze, Silver, and Gold Patent Awards; GE Superabrasives’ Leadership Award; GE Plastics’ CEO Six Sigma Award; and election to the Whitney Gallery of Technical Achievers.

Banholzer earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Marquette University and master’s and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois. He is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, holds 16 U.S. patents and has over 80 publications, which have received 2,300 citations with an H index of 27 for his work in engineering and chemistry.

Revised: 02/13/2013