Carter takes top spot at Dow P&SP as Donoso sets retirement

There will be a changing of the guard at the Packaging and Specialty Plastics unit of Dow Inc.

Karen Carter has been named president of the unit, which ranks as one of the world's largest makers of polyethylene resin and specialty plastics. In that role, she'll replace Diego Donoso, who will retire from the Midland, Mich.-based firm in the first quarter of 2023.

Carter has more than 25 years of experience with Dow and currently serves as chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer. Before those positions, she was North America commercial vice president for P&SP. In that role, Carter was a member of Dow's global business leadership team and was responsible for overall profit and loss of P&SP's North America region.

Carter also serves as chair of the Business Leaders Committee on the state of Michigan's Black Leadership Advisory Council and as chair of the Catalyst board of advisers.

In a news release, Dow Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling said that as CHRO and as Dow's first chief inclusion officer, Carter's leadership "has meaningfully impacted the way we address both workplace skills and competencies, to enable the transformation of our culture and develop the next generation of Dow leaders."

"This is a pivotal time for Dow's P&SP franchise," he added. "We are accelerating our commitment to address plastic waste and meet customers' increasing demands for more sustainable and circular products. Karen is a proven leader who will further advance the implementation of our 'Decarbonize and Grow' strategy, build important collaborations and enable a new industrial ecosystem to grow."

Donoso was named president of P&SP in 2012. His Dow career began more than 30 years ago, when he joined the firm as a commercial trainee in São Paulo. Over the next 20 years, Donoso served in numerous marketing and commercial leadership positions for Dow's resins and plastics franchise in Latin America and Europe.

Officials said in the release that, throughout his career, Donoso "has been a strong proponent" of diversity, equity and inclusion, serving as an executive sponsor of Dow's employee resource groups, including the Women's Innovative Network.

Donoso also serves on the board of directors for the Sadara joint venture with Saudi Aramco and the board of directors for Circulate Capital and is chairman of the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Operating Committee.

"Diego has truly left his mark on Dow," Fitterling said. "Through his leadership of the P&SP segment over these past 10 years, the business has exceeded customers' expectations on innovation, performance, and sustainability.

"Beyond that, Diego has been a trusted adviser, mentor and champion to many people across Dow and has helped develop the next generation of Dow leaders," he added.

Dow employs almost 36,000 worldwide and posted sales of approximately $55 billion in 2021.