Dow has chosen Karen Carter, its chief of operations, to become chief executive officer effective July 1, the company said on Tuesday. Jim Fitterling, who has served as CEO since 2018, will move into the role of executive chair as part of the leadership change.
The appointment places a long-serving insider at the company helm during a period of significant operational and market challenges. Dow has announced a sweeping restructuring earlier this year that includes cutting about 4,500 positions - roughly 13% of its workforce - as part of an effort to raise profitability by at least $2 billion. The company also signaled that its first-quarter revenue came in below expectations, attributing the shortfall to weak demand.
Shares of the company fell 1.4% in premarket trading following the announcement.
Dow has been reassessing its global portfolio through a strategic review begun in 2024 of certain European assets and by evaluating other non-core holdings worldwide. The company specifically noted that it has been re-evaluating assets tied to power and steam production as well as pipelines.
In a related set of actions responding to persistent structural issues in Europe, Dow said last year it would close three upstream plants in the region and eliminate around 800 positions. That process is expected to begin in mid-2026 and to be completed by the end of 2027.
Fitterling led Dow through its corporate separation from DowDuPont in 2019 and navigated the business through a period shaped by trade tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently challenging economic conditions and geopolitical headwinds. The company’s corporate lineage traces back to the 2017 merger of DuPont and Dow Chemical that created DowDuPont; two years later the chemical business was spun out as Dow and the agribusiness division became Corteva, with DuPont continuing as a separate company.
Investors and market participants will watch the transition closely as Carter assumes the CEO role amid ongoing restructuring, asset reviews and pressure on demand. The company’s stated objectives include achieving the targeted cost savings and stabilizing revenue trends while progressing with its portfolio decisions.
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The leadership change is a notable governance shift for the chemicals maker, placing operations leadership at the top as Dow seeks to execute a complex restructuring and complete strategic reviews of regional assets against a backdrop of subdued demand and geopolitical uncertainty.