The Dow Chemical Company Midland, MI, has named Marc van Gerwen global business director for Dow Pharma & Food Solutions. This business was formerly known as Dow Wolff Cellulosics.
 
Dow Pharma & Food Solutions uses natural, plant-based cellulosic technology and companion chemistries to serve the needs of the fast-growing healthcare and medical markets, and to help make everyday foods a little tastier and healthier for consumers. This business also continues to cherish its foundational industrial applications, such as auto-honeycomb and anti-static films as well as conductive pastes for photovoltaic applications.
 
“This is a business built around helping solve some of the world’s most challenging problems,” said Mr. van Gerwen, who is based in Horgen, Switzerland, and assumed the leadership role in late February. “We help bring food to the table that tastes great, but perhaps has a little less fat in it, or gives the consumer that satisfied feeling with smaller amounts of food.We also make high-quality pharmaceutical ingredients designed to help get healing medications to the right part of the body at the right time in the right dosage.”
 
Mr. van Gerwen continued, “Our customers count on us to continually develop customized solutions to meet their needs and keep them competitive.Understanding customer needs has been at the heart of our business for more than 40 years. We will continue to partner with them to help design even more impactful solutions, such as our new AFFINISOLsolubilization excipients.”
 
“Marc is the right person for the job,” said Neil Carr, business president for Functional Materials. “After two years as marketing and commercial director, he knows the business, and many of its customers. He has a demonstrated talent for working closely with them to get good results for all.”Dow Pharma & Food Solutions is one of four business units within Dow’s Functional Materials business group.
 
Mr. van Gerwen joined Dow in 2007 as the strategic planner for Rohm and Haas’s European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, after working for a number of chemical companies in positions of increasing responsibility. He joined Dow Microbial Control in 2009 as global commercial director and helped that business move successfully into the fast-growing shale gas business. In 2011, he joined Dow Wolff Cellulosics as global marketing and sales leader.
 
Mr. van Gerwen succeeds Martin Sonntag, who is leaving Dow for a position outside the organization. “Martin will always hold a special place in our hearts,” said Mr. Carr. “He understands the need to be market-driven, and began the business transition that Marc takes over today. We thank him sincerely for his contributions.”