Bioplastics feedstock maker Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc. has named Tony Parnell as its new CEO.
Parnell is a specialty chemicals veteran who spent 32 years with Albemarle Corp. of Baton Rouge, La. At Woodridge, Ill.-based Elevance, he'll be replacing K'Lynne Johnson, who had served as CEO since the firm was founded in 2007. Johnson now will be executive chairman of Elevance's board.
“Now is the ideal time to build upon [Elevance's] many notable accomplishments, resulting from [Johnson's] sound direction and leadership,” Parnell said in an Oct. 23 news release.
Johnson added in the release that Parnell's background “gives Elevance proven industry expertise in efficient and effective business practices necessary for revenue growth and profitability.”
At Albemarle, Parnell last served as corporate vice president of the firm's global sales and supply chain. While serving as corporate vice president of polymer solutions at Albemarle, he ran the firm's polymer additives operations, which had almost $1 billion in annual sales.
Elevance operates a palm oil-based biofeedstock plant in Gresik, Indonesia, with annual production capacity of almost 400 million pounds. Feedstocks processed there can be used to make bio-based grades of nylon, polyurethane or other plastics.
Elevance plans to open a second plant with more than 600 million pounds of production capacity in Natchez, Miss., in 2016. That plant will make products based on canola oil or soybean oil. The firm also has development deals in place with Arkema and other materials suppliers.