DD DuPont de Nemours Inc

By Alison Sider 

Andrew Liveris, chief executive of Dow Chemical Co., will take the role of executive chairman in a combination of Dow and DuPont Co., announced Friday, assuming he can pull off the marriage of the two rivals with regulators.

The move is the latest for an executive known for having big ambitions and a personality to match. It could prove the pinnacle of a career marked by wide swings in his company's fortunes and personal dramas for the 61-year-old Mr. Liveris.

A deal with DuPont has been in Mr. Liveris's sights for over years and he moved quickly when DuPont appointed a new chief executive earlier this year.

"Persistence is my middle name," he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, crediting his upbringing in Australia's outback.

A native of the northern Australian city of Darwin, Mr. Liveris has said he reinvented himself three or four times in his 11 years at the helm of the chemical giant. Trained as a chemical engineer, Mr. Liveris joined Dow nearly 40 years ago in Australia and worked throughout Asia in Thailand and Hong Kong, and then in the U.S.

Analysts credit Mr. Liveris with forging international partnerships that have expanded Dow's horizons, including a joint venture with the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco. Together, they built a giant petrochemical complex on the Persian Gulf that started production earlier this week.

"He's probably the most global executive I've encountered," said Wells Fargo analyst Frank Mitsch.

He also undertook a risky overhaul of the sprawling company, divesting billions of dollars worth of businesses--some of which Dow had been in for more than a century--to focus on higher-margin products.

"He's a very strategic minded person--very determined, always willing to make bold steps for the portfolio," said Raj Gupta, the former CEO of Rohm & Haas, which Dow bought in 2009.

Dow was rocked by the financial crisis, which took a bite out of world-wide demand for its products. The company's $16 billion deal to buy rival Rohm & Haas nearly collapsed due to the downturn when Kuwait pulled out of a joint venture that would have helped pay for the purchase. Dow had to cut its dividend for the first time and took $3 billion worth of rescue financing from Warren Buffett.

Mr. Gupta said Mr. Liveris stayed cool under relentless pressure during months of legal wrangling before that deal closed. When the dust settled, Mr. Liveris sent Mr. Gupta a gift of Australian wine.

More recently, Dow came under fire from activist investor Daniel Loeb of Third Point LLC, who last year pushed Mr. Liveris to break the company apart. Dow agreed to add two of the hedge fund's preferred directors to its board.

Mr. Liveris also has encountered legal challenges.

In a legal fight that started in 2007, Mr. Liveris ultimately prevailed against two former executives who admitted they had engaged in talks aimed at selling the company behind his back.

In a separate case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sought documents related to the Dow chief's use of company funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment. The company didn't respond to requests for comment, but in the past has denied any wrongdoing by Mr. Liveris.

Scrutiny of Mr. Liveris's use of Dow money dates back to 2011, when the company disclosed in a filing to the SEC that the CEO repaid more than $719,000 after what the company described as a routine audit committee investigation.

Allegations he misspent company funds on vacations and trips to sporting events including the Super Bowl were raised in lawsuits brought by Kimberly Wood, a former employee who said the company had retaliated against her for raising questions about Mr. Liveris's spending. She settled with Dow in February on terms that haven't been disclosed.

If the DowDupont deal goes through as planned, the combined company would then split into three separate companies. Mr. Liveris and Edward Breen, the CEO of DuPont who will retain that title in the new company, said Friday they haven't determined what their roles would be when the company splits.

Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.

Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2015 14:50 ET (19:50 GMT)

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