Dive Brief:

• Global chemical company Chemours Wednesday named a new finance chief to replace former CFO Jonathan Lock, who recently stepped down after an internal probe found that he and two other executives engaged in unethical financial practices.
• Shane Hostetter, who most recently served as CFO of Quaker Houghton, another global chemical business, will assume Chemours’ top finance post effective July 1, according to a press release.
• “With over 20 years’ experience in all aspects of finance and a deep understanding of the chemicals industry, Shane is uniquely positioned to drive long-term value for shareholders,” Denise Dignam, who recently became CEO of the company, said in the release.

Dive Insight:

In his new role, Hostetter, 43, will receive an annual base salary of $600,000, a signing bonus of $50,000, a target annual bonus opportunity of 75% of his annual base salary and a target long-term incentive award opportunity of $1 million, according to a securities filing by Chemours.

With Hostetter’s appointment, Matthew Abbott, who has been serving as interim CFO since February, will resume his prior role of chief enterprise transformation officer, according to the Wednesday release.

Wilmington, Delaware-based Chemours said in February that it placed three of its top executives at the time — Lock, then-CEO Mark Newman, and then-Controller Camela Wisel — on administrative leave pending a review of financial reporting issues that weren’t fully disclosed. Meanwhile, Dignam, who had been serving as president of titanium technologies at Chemours, was named interim CEO and Abbott was named interim CFO.

The company revealed further details in early March, saying it learned as a result of its probe that the three executives had violated the company’s code of ethics by taking improper steps to meet cash-flow targets that were key metrics in determining bonus awards for executives.

Specifically, the review determined that the executives engaged in efforts in the fourth quarter of 2023 to delay payments to certain vendors that were originally due to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2023 until the first quarter of 2024, according to a company press release at the time. They also took steps to accelerate the collection of receivables into the fourth quarter of 2023 that were originally not due to be received until the first quarter of 2024, the company said.

In late March, the company announced that Dignam was named its permanent CEO after Newman resigned. Lock’s resignation eventually followed.

Chemours disclosed in a March 10-K securities filing that it was cooperating with requests from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for information concerning the results of the company’s internal probe. The company also reported that it was facing two related class actions lawsuits.

“These matters could result in us incurring additional costs and liabilities, which may be material to our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows,” the filing said.