David Weidman, chairman and CEO of Celanese Corp. (Dallas, Tex.; www.celanese.com), was honored at a dinner event in New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel last night. Stephanie Burns, chairman of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), America International Group, presented the SCI Chemical Industry Medal to Wiedman at the event.
Wiedman has served as president and CEO of Celanese since December 2004, and he was appointed chairman by the board of directors in February 2007. A frequent speaker on change, Weidman is credited with leading Celanese’s transformation from a German-based company traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to a fully global company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Before joining Celanese in 2000, Weidman held executive responsibilities with several companies including Honeywell and Allied Signal. He received his B.S.Ch.E. from Brigham Young University and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
The America International Group of the SCI was launched in 1894, and is a branch of the internationally known British Society. The Chemical Industry Medal was established in 1933 and is presented annually to a recipient selected by the executive committee of the America International Group of the SCI. The medal is a testimonial to men and women whose leadership, foresight, and contributions to applied chemistry have been, to a considerable degree, responsible for the growth of that industry.
Among the distinguished recipients of the Chemical Industry Medal is Sidney D. Kirkpatrick (1945 recipient), the former Chemical Engineering Editorial Director, for whom Chemical Engineering’s biennial Kirkpatrick Award is named. (For more on CE’s Kirkpatrick Award and Personal Achievement Award, click here)