Standard Industries Announces Bob Patel to Join as CEO of W. R. Grace
31.8.2021 15:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Standard Industries Holdings (“Standard”), a privately-held global industrial company, today announced, in anticipation of the closing of its acquisition of W. R. Grace (“Grace”), that Bhavesh V. (Bob) Patel will join the company as CEO of Grace, effective January 2022.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Bob to the Standard family as CEO of W. R. Grace,” said David Winter and David Millstone, Co-CEOs of Standard Industries. “Bob has for decades been a visionary leader in the industry, with a record of transforming businesses to achieve robust, sustainable growth. He has proven himself to be the right person to lead Grace’s exceptional team and help architect Standard’s investment in the advanced materials space. He will be instrumental in taking Grace into its next chapter as we ensure a seamless transition post-close and embark on an ambitious growth strategy.”
Patel will join Standard from LyondellBasell, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2015 and led a period of extraordinary growth for the company. From 2010 to 2014, Patel led significant restructuring efforts in both the U.S. and Europe to optimize the company’s cost structure and geographic footprint. Throughout his time at LyondellBasell, he significantly increased earnings power through a number of strategic investments—including acquiring A. Schulman and building world-scale manufacturing facilities—and greatly expanded the company’s sustainability initiatives. During his tenure, LyondellBasell was named to Fortune Magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list for four years in a row. Prior to joining LyondellBasell in 2010, Patel spent 20 years at Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., where he held positions in manufacturing and led several businesses in the U.S. and Asia.
“It’s a privilege to join Standard Industries and to be asked to lead W. R. Grace through its next chapter,” Patel said. “Grace is an iconic company and a fundamentally strong business driven by its exceptionally talented employees. I look forward to working with the leadership team at Grace to take the company to new heights.”
Patel will succeed Hudson La Force, who has served as CEO of Grace since 2018. Under La Force’s leadership, Grace has made significant investments to deliver higher growth in its catalysts and materials businesses. La Force will continue as CEO until the end of the year and will join Standard’s advisory board in January 2022.
“Hudson is an exemplary leader who has been instrumental in building Grace into the leading global chemicals business it is today. We appreciate his continued service as CEO through the end of the year and are excited to welcome him to Standard’s advisory board,” said Winter and Millstone.
About Standard Industries:
Standard Industries is a privately-held global industrial company operating in over 80 countries with over 15,000 employees. The Standard ecosystem spans a broad array of holdings, technologies and investments—including both public and private companies from early to late-stage—as well as world-class building materials assets and next-generation solar solutions. Throughout its 140-year history, Standard has leveraged its deep industry expertise and vision to create outsize value across its businesses, which today include operating companies GAF, BMI, Siplast, GAF Energy, Schiedel and SGI, as well as related businesses 40 North, a multi-billion-dollar investment platform, 40 North Ventures and Winter Properties.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210831005554/en/
Contact information
Media Contacts:
Patrick Ryan
Edelman
610-306-7536
Patrick.Ryan@edelman.com
Josh Hochberg
Edelman
Josh.Hochberg@edelman.com
Beth Kseniak
Standard Industries
917-509-7031
beth.kseniak@standardindustries.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Armis Centrix™ Named “Best Solution” for Cyber Exposure Management as Armis Wins Multiple Global InfoSec Awards at RSAC 202623.3.2026 18:00:00 EET | Press release
Armis, the cyber exposure management & security company, today announced that it has won multiple Global InfoSec Awards from Cyber Defense Magazine at this year’s RSAC™ Conference. Armis received the following accolades: Armis Centrix™ won “Best Solution” for Cyber Exposure Management Armis named “Publisher’s Choice Cybersecurity Company” Yevgeny Dibrov, Armis’ CEO and Co-Founder, awarded “Industry Pioneering CEO” “We cannot safeguard modern infrastructure with yesterday’s tactics; the extended attack surface demands a unified, AI-driven approach that sees, protects and manages all assets (IT, OT, IoT, IoMT, applications, code, cloud and AI) in real time,” said Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and Co-Founder of Armis. “Armis secures the most complex environments of organizations and governments worldwide to protect society from the destruction cybercriminals seek to cause. These awards reinforce our dedication to fundamentally redefining cyber exposure management for the era of hyper-connectivity.”
STOKR Appoints Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor23.3.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release
STOKR has appointed Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor. Sinha will work directly with STOKR's leadership team on fund tokenization with particular focus on money market fund (MMF) tokenization and on expanding STOKR's institutional presence in the U.S. market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323315236/en/ Image, Subhankar Sinha A New York-based digital assets executive, Sinha brings deep expertise across blockchain infrastructure, capital markets, and institutional business development. He previously served as Head of Blockchain at BNY, the world's largest custody and asset servicing business. Earlier in his career, he was a Director at PwC, where he co-founded and co-led the firm's blockchain consulting practice in the U.S. "Subhankar brings the institutional depth that this stage of STOKR's growth demands," said Arnab Naskar, Co-Founder of STOKR. "His experience leading blockchain at BNY and co-building Pw
Exein Unveils Next-Generation Runtime Security to Protect the AI-Native World23.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Exein, the global leader in runtime cybersecurity, today unveiled Photon, a preemptive breakthrough solution that blocks cyberattacks at the point of execution. Designed for the AI-native world - where digital and physical systems are now inseparable - Photon marks a fundamental shift in how critical infrastructure protects itself. Unlike traditional cybersecurity solutions that detect threats after compromise - typically operating in user space and relying on a cloud network - Exein’s Photon operates directly inside the kernel, preventing malicious execution paths before they can run. By blocking attacks before the point of execution, the technology dramatically reduces latency and eliminates entire classes of threats before damage occurs. If malicious instructions cannot execute, the attack itself cannot take place. This advancement establishes a new category of runtime security designed for systems that cannot be disconnected: physical AI and IoT environments, autonomous AI agents,
Xsolla Partners With Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA) as the Island Emerges as a Game Development Hub23.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced a strategic partnership with the Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA). The collaboration will provide creators and studios within the CYGMA network with hands-on support, industry expertise, and access to world-class commerce tools, helping Cyprus-based studios bring their titles to players worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323570679/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The partnership comes as Cyprus continues to attract game development talent, fueled by favorable business conditions and a growing creative community. Through its collaboration with CYGMA, Xsolla aims to accelerate momentum and expand opportunities for developers by removing commerce and distribution barriers that often prevent emerging studios from reaching global markets. As part of the agreement, Xsolla will sponsor a seri
Manhattan Associates’ 2026 Unified Commerce Benchmark Reveals the High Price of Standing Still in Retail23.3.2026 14:30:00 EET | Press release
Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), today announced the findings of its 2026 Global Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail, the industry’s most comprehensive assessment of how well retailers connect digital and physical experiences to drive growth, profitability and loyalty. Conducted by Incisiv, a leading retail research firm, the Benchmark is based on real-world purchases and returns. It analyzes more than 400 specialty retailers across EMEA, LATAM and North America on 330 capabilities spanning four key experience areas: Shopping, Checkout, Fulfillment, and Service. The 2026 Benchmark reveals that while the industry has made steady progress in unified commerce maturity since 2023 when it was first launched, only 7% of retailers have achieved true unified commerce leadership while 33% are still stuck in the Basic category. Leaders are translating connected, data‑driven yet customer-centric experiences into nearly 2X higher growth rates than their basic peers. The Benchm
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom