Buterbaugh first female CEO in Greene Tweed's 150-year history

When talking with Magen Buterbaugh about her new position as president and CEO at Greene Tweed & Co., a variety of themes come through.

There's her passion for chemicals and materials, a background of cross-functional leadership developed in a career that has seen her work for both a startup and a multibillion-dollar corporate giant.

And her drive to make sure Greene Tweed continues to live its mission of being a market-leading innovator that is known for solving the world's — and its customers' — biggest challenges.

That's not even mentioning that she is the first female CEO in the more than 150-plus-year history of the Lansdale, Pa.-based producer of seals, high-end elastomers, engineered components, composites and thermoplastics for such market sectors as aerospace/defense, energy, semiconductor, industrial, life sciences and chemical processing.

"I am a relentless pursuer of results. I think that I can bring that to Greene Tweed," she told Rubber News in a wide-ranging interview less than two months into her new job. "I think they've done a great job of growing throughout its history. I think they need that next level of growth that I think will require more focused execution. I feel that's a piece I can bring here for sure."

Buterbaugh earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Penn State University, and then an MBA from Widener University.

After serving an internship with DuPont Co., she worked 15 years for the firm, then another two at spinoff Chemours Co. While there, she worked with a variety of chemicals and materials — including engineering polymers, packaging industrial polymers and fluorochemicals — and functions that started out with capital project engineers and several stints in operations. She then moved into commercial strategic planning business management for the last dozen of the 17 years.

"When I left there, I was leading the global fluorochemicals business as global business director and North American general manger for fluorochemicals, about a $1.5 billion platform of business," Buterbaugh said.

She left Chemours in 2017 after being recruited to run a startup that was developing a nanotechnology, water-based dispersion for the enhanced oil and gas space. "I literally went from running a $1.5 billion business to a startup with an idea and one person, she said.

During her two years there, Buterbaugh said they built a company from the ground up, developed three patent-pending products and became a fully commercialized business.

After having a large corporate experience and then leading a startup, she said she was really interested in "checking off the private equity box" in her career. That led her to work for what became DCL Corp., a global colored pigment provider for the inks, coatings and plastics spaces. She helped the PE-backed firm nearly double in size over three years, bolstered by a number of mergers and acquisitions.

When Greene Tweed started recruiting her as its next potential president and CEO, Buterbaugh looked at her history of cross-functional leadership, where she managed nearly every function. Package that with her knack for problem-solving, experience in the materials space, along with a relentless pursuit of results, and Buterbaugh is bringing a new perspective to Greene Tweed.

She succeeds Kevin Lukiewski, who retired at the end of 2022 after 23 years with the manufacturer, the last three as president.

Like any move she has made in her career, she studied the offer from a number of different perspectives, asking: "Will it challenge me? Can I add value? Will it help me grow professionally? And am I passionate about what the company is doing?"

What she found was a company with a unique and fascinating 150-plus-year history of success and growth, manufacturing cutting-edge products in a variety of interesting markets and meeting customer challenges.

"To me that was very intriguing. I love being in the technology space where you're doing that market-led product innovation," Buterbaugh said.

Looking back on the interview process, Buterbaugh said the company wanted an experienced leader who could bring in some energy to put Greene Tweed "on the next trajectory of growth."

In simple terms, that means the high-end manufacturer wants to double its sales by 2030, under its Vision 2030 program launched about two years ago.

As a 100 percent family-owned company, Greene Tweed doesn't release financial details, but it's fair to say the Pennsylvania-based firm is a substantial firm. It employs 2,000 around the globe and has six manufacturing sites, located in Kulpsville, Pa.; Houston and Selma, Texas; the United Kingdom; Taiwan; and Switzerland. That is supported by sales and engineering sites in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

To reach the Vision 2030 goal, Buterbaugh said growth will come from a combination of significant organic growth, potentially coupled with targeted acquisitions that may bring complementary products or a different manufacturing footprint to Greene Tweed.

When she officially took the helm Jan. 3, Buterbaugh said she could tell the culture was different from that of a large, publicly held firm. The main difference was the ability to take a long-term view, truly thinking about investing for the future without being beholden to quarterly numbers.

"I would say you can feel Greene Tweed's culture, what I call that family culture," the new CEO said. "And I felt it right away with how welcoming and helpful everyone has been bringing me up to speed with the company and where we're going."

The firm also had a culture that was ready to accept its first female CEO in a history that spans back to the 19th Century.

During her more than two decades in business, Buterbaugh said she generally has had good experiences navigating what traditionally has been a male-dominated industry.

"I would say overall my growing up in what I call the material and chemicals spaces has been very positive as a female, actually," she said. "I've had the support of amazing people, both men and women as mentors. People who provide me guidance, people who challenge me and people who have given me opportunities to thrive."

There were times, however, where she felt being a woman climbing the corporate ladder was challenging and wondered whether she would break that glass ceiling.

"But I would say that, overall, movement is in the right direction for women to pursue executive management, to pursue being a CEO," Buterbaugh said, "and I think we've come a long way in that regard."

Interestingly enough, Greene Tweed, she said, not only has a female as president and CEO, but also two women as executive team members and a family ownership that is represented by women. The firm also has a global diversity and inclusion network, "which continues to drive Greene Tweed toward that future vision in that space."

While rubber and other industrial sectors perennially have trouble getting people interested in careers, that was never the case with Buterbaugh.

"I just love technology. I think it comes back to the basics of engineering, which is whether it's taking a product and improving it, or seeing the benefits that it has," she told Rubber News. "But for me, my passion in the chemicals and materials space is really just about how you bring technology to markets to improve things, how you solve problems, your customers' challenges."

The Greene Tweed CEO thinks it comes from that engineering perspective, the ability to see everything from the manufacturing process, how you take the R&D process into manufacturing, and how you produce new materials and work with customers.

She's spent a lot of time in the industrial space with polymers and fluorochemicals, seeing how regulatory changes on such materials as Freon drive that next generation of change and discovery.

"If you think about Greene Tweed, the polymers and compounds that we are using, that we are manufacturing and developing," she said, "and being able to put those in the most demanding applications, whether it's semiconductor chips or deep sea oil and gas."

In drawing career interest, Buterbaugh believes it's imperative to draw a clear picture of how vital a role these industries play in the large picture of the world.

"Forget that it's not attracting women; it's just not attracting new talent," she said. "I think people think there are cooler spaces, like consumer goods, or software development.

"I personally like the engineering, the problem-solving. I mean we're solving the world's biggest challenges with chemicals and materials. And I find that truly fascinating, and it truly energizes me in that way."

From the moment Buterbaugh interviewed with Greene Tweed, she knew the firm had a culture of innovation along with a broad portfolio, whether it centers on elastomers, thermoplastics or composites.

The vast majority of company development is market-led, where the team works closely with customers from the development phase forward.

"We always want to think about the white space, as sometimes there is the technology push as well," she said. "But I would say a vast majority of our product development is customer-led. And I think that's how we want to continue to pursue innovation is market-driven."

One thing Greene Tweed will focus on is finding areas where it can leverage its large brand portfolio, according to its new CEO.

"Where is the next new or adjacent market space for us? Diversifying our portfolio is something I think we need to work on," Buterbaugh said. "That's not ignoring our base, but also considering — especially given our product portfolio — where the next market space is for us.

"And I think we're well-aligned with key macro-trends like the hydrogen space and advanced air mobility. I think one of the challenges for us will be how do we work to penetrate those new markets and applications."

This early in her tenure, Buterbaugh is in a listening and learning mode, visiting plants, meeting with employees and understanding the customers and markets.

"I'll stay in that phase for a short period of time before I decide to make any changes," she said. "But I'm absolutely excited about the future of Greene Tweed. One of the key things I think I can bring is having that sense of urgency and drive for results, and I'm looking forward to doing that next. I think that Greene Tweed is in that phase of evolution but doesn't need a revolution."

Buterbaugh also is learning that employees love working at the company in a family-based culture.

"Having employees who are passionate about what they do, who are passionate about the company, is a great foundation for success," she said. "For me, it's how do we get these employees around the world focused and aligned on the next phase of growth. It can be very powerful when we engage them in the right way."

Buterbaugh sees a team with great talent — one with deep industry, deep market and deep product knowledge.

"I think these are all a recipe for success, and I'm excited about it," she said. "Don't get me wrong, we have challenges, but I think there is a very solid foundation here, and they've proven that they can grow through the years. And now we want to, say, step change that growth."

Buterbaugh also believes Greene Tweed has the best of both worlds: having the resources of a large organization but also the best attributes of a smaller company.

"I look forward to us having the top line of a large company, but I don't want us to lose the feel, the flexibility, the agility of a small to midsize company. And I truly believe that is a key differentiator of Greene Tweed," she said.

Her vision is for the firm to continue to be what it is: an entrusted leader in the markets it serves that is the go-to partner for its customers to solve their problems.

"I think, for me, to best support our customers during these challenging times, we need to continue to operate with a sense of urgency, adaptability and accountability. And I think if I can reinforce those key behaviors along with what we are today," Buterbaugh said, "we will be able to double the size of the company by 2030.

"And I think that's ultimately what the company's vision is. And I can easily buy into that, which is why I'm here."